HsG 




Class. 



THE 

BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 

OF 

JASPER COUNTY 

MISSOURI 



ILLUSTRATED 



By Hon. Malcolm G. McGregor 



never 



'A peop,e that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will nev 

achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by 

remote generations."— Macaulay 



CHICAGO 

The Lewis Publishing Company 

1901 






33 1 7 2 - 



PREFACE. 




JP ii * £ *¥®\JT of the depths of his mature wisdom Carl vie wrote, 
'" f$ Believing this to be the fact, there is no necessity of 



History is the essence of innumerable biographies." 



Eg 

gi advancing any further reason for the compilation of 

m £| such a work as this, if reliable history is to be the 

#9191* 'If I'WMJ II 



ultimate object. 

Jasper county, Missouri, has sustained within its confines men who 
have been prominent in public affairs and great industrial enterprises 
for half a century. The annals teem with the records of strong and noble 
manhood, and, as Sumner has said, "the true grandeur of nations is 
in those qualities which constitute the greatness of the individual." The 
final causes which shape the fortunes of individuals and the destinies 
of States are often the same. They are usually remote and obscure, 
and their influence scarcely perceived until manifestly declared by 
results. That nation is the greatest which produces the greatest and most 
manly men and faithful women; and the intrinsic safety of a community 
depends not so much upon methods as upon that normal development from 
the deep resources of which proceeds all that is precious and perma- 
nent in life. But such a result may not consciously be contemplated by 
the actors in the great social drama. Pursuing each his personal good by 
exalted means, they work out as a logical result. 

The elements of success in life consist in both innate capacity and deter- 
mination to excel. Where either is wanting, failure is almost certain in the 
outcome. The study of a successful life, therefore, serves both as a source 
of information and as a stimulus and encouragement to those who have the 
capacity. As an important lesson in this connection we may appropriately 



PREFACE 

quote Longfellow, who said : " We judge ourselves by what we feel capa- 
ble of doing, while we judge others by what they have already done." A 
faithful personal history is an illustration of the truth of this observation. 

In this biographical history the editorial staff, as well as the publishers, 
have fully realized the magnitude of the task. In the collection of the ma- 
terial there has been a constant aim to discriminate carefully in regard to the 
selection of subjects. Those who have been prominent factors in the public, 
social and industrial development of the county have been given due recog- 
nition as far as it has been possible to secure the requisite data. Names 
worthy of perpetuation here, it is true, have in several instances been omitted, 
either on account of the apathy of those concerned or the inability of the 
compilers to secure the information necessary for a symmetrical sketch; but 
even more pains have been taken to secure accuracy than were promised in 
the prospectus. Works of this nature, therefore, are more reliable and com- 
plete than are the "standard" histories of a country. 

We are indebted to the Honorable Malcolm G. McGregor, of Carthage, 
Missouri, for the excellent general history and sketches of many eminent men 
of the earlier period which he has so generously contributed to this work. 

THE PUBLISHERS. 



INDEX 



Historical Sketches 9-56 



PERSONAL SKETCHES 



Adams, F. E., 305 
Adams, OzroA., 275 
Alexander, Samantha, 432 
Allen, Elijah, 515 
Anderson, Edward L., 1 '.)•'! 
Arey, John, 214 
Atherton, Amos, 501 
Ault, Isaac, 197 
Ayre, H. A., 265 

Bagby, William J., 148 
Baird, John W., 152 
Baker, Clifton I., 453 
Baker, J. F., 48!> 
Baker, Joseph W., 330 
Barbee, Gilbert, 479 
Barrett, A. A., 360 
Bavne, George G., 440 
Bell, John W., 130 
Boqua, A. E., 341 
Boss, James P. ,301 
Bradford, Joseph P., 421 
Brooks, Robert F., 57 
Brookshire, J. A., 442 
Brown, Marion, 258 
Browning, John M., 400 
Bruton, Jesse T., 259 
Burch, Edward J., 81 
Burch, F. Luther, 488 
Burch, John W., 358 
Butler, John, 317 
Buttrum, William, 349 
Byers, William, 58 

Caffee, Amos H., 92 
Cape, John H., 340 



Carlson, Emil, 111 
Carmani, William, 120 
Carter, William M., 82 
Cass, Amos A., 312 
Chaffee, Francis W., 356 
Chaille, Albert C, 268 
Charlson, Frank E., 4!)7 
Chitwood, Stephen J., 108 
Clark, A. Benson, 35] 
Clark, Jerry, 332 
Clark, Monroe, 159 
Clary, Thomas C, 325 
Cline, William, 460 
Cobb, Joseph E., 337 
Cone, Thomas L., 40S 
Conklin, Harry R., 132 
Cooley, George T., 410 
Cooley, William C, 110 
Cox, John C, 5!) 
Coyle, Mathew, 383 
Coyne, Thomas F., 300 
Craig, Charles H., 520 
Crain, R. H., 498 
Crampton, M. C, 155 
Crosby, Thomas J., 255 
Crossman, Henrv B.. 311 
Curtic, H. C, 286 

Dale, Hiram U.. 272 
Davis, George F., 238 
Davis, Sanders T., 208 
De Graff. Charles M., 342 
Dick, William, 106 
Dietrich, Jacob YV., 175 
Dilworth, Robert F., 118 
Ditmore, Vinson, |397 



INDEX. 



Donehoo, Thomas, 60 
Downing, M. F., 233 
Downs, William C, 168 
Dreisbach, Simon W., 150 
Dwyer, Daniel, 408 

Earles, John W., 352 
Elliott, Moses, 240 
Elting, Isaiah, '2'-'<'! 
Emry, Cyrus A., .'567 
Evans, David G., 227 
Evans, W. E., 165 
Everitt, David, 382 

Fairfield, John, 508 
Fisher, Thomas, 394 
Fithian, James, 213 
Flanigan, John H., 389 
Folger, Erasmus, L31 
Folger, Thomas, 202 
Fountain, Isaac N., 205 
Frankenberger, Jesse, 308 
Freeman, John, 224 
Friend, David N., 2!)7 
Friend, R. C, 516 
Fugitt, W. J., 512 
Fullmer, Daniel, 228 

Gaddis, John A., 467 
Garey, Thomas B., 198 
Garner, Isaac F., 11!) 
Gilbert, William L., 117 
Gillfillan, Alexander, 491 
Gleason, John, 431 
Gobar, F. S., 245 
Gooding, B. A., 434 
Gray, Edwin, 393 
Gray, Thomas E., .'!!>2 
Green, Joseph, 300 
Greenlee, C. W., 320 
Grieb, Thomas V., 368 
Grundler, Michael, 310 
Guinn, John C, 151 

Hacker, W. R., 509 
Haines James L., 452 
Hall, William E., 282 
Halliburton, |ohnW., 112 
Harden, M. L., 244 
Hardy, George, ;>20 
Hardy, J. Allen, 239 
Harrington, Charles O., 250 
Hart, Charles E,, 338 
Hatcher, Benjamin F., 271 
Haven, Frank, 179 
Heck, J. C, 457 
Henderson, L. C, 459 
Hendrickson, Ulysses, 298 
Hennessy, P. \V., 507 
Henry, B. M., 316 
Herron, Thomas, 136 
Hess, tsaac C, 224 
Hickman, |. M,, 211 



Hill, T. W., 281 
Hood, Norris C, 61 
Hopkins, S. W., 192 
Hornback, John, (i2 
Hough, Augustus W., 90 
Howard, George W., L35 
Hudson, John, 518 
Huff, John, 172 

Irelan, James, 414 
Irwin, Thomas K., 378 
Isherwood, H. L, 181 

James, Ellwood B., 0:> 
James, Montalbon V., 381 
lameson, Eliza A., 494 
Janes, L. M., 319 
J"arrett, George L. , 266 
Johnson, Ethelbert D., 359 
Johnson, George W. , 218 
Johnson, Jacob, 455 
Johnson, John, 404 
joiner, W. B., 462 
Jones, Charles R., 511 
Jones, Thomas C, 482 
Joplin Business College, lli-") 
Juergens, Henry, 368 

Kline, William, 495 
Koontz, Isaac E., 04 
Kyle, T. B., 22!) 

La Force, Samuel B., 64 
Lamkin, Alfred A., 158 
Leckie, William M, 315 
Leddy, Patrick H., 270 
Lippitt, Isaiah T., 139 
Livingston, Joel T., 97 
Lochrie, John, 211 
Lochrie, William, 289 
Long, John S., 234 
Lucas, Hanson A., 200 

Malang, John M., 480 
Mallett, Edgar, 321 
Maness, A. L., 217 
Margrave, William H., 20? 
Mays, Berry F., 493 
McAdams, James M., 477 
McAntire, William B., 269 
McCann, Alexander, 504 
McDaniel, Francis M., 201 
McDowell, W. W., 374 
McGee, Robert L, 40!) 
McGowan, W. C, 200 
McGregor, Malcolm G., 74 
McKee, Ambrose B., 211 
McKee, Hartwell T., 219 
McMichael, Americas O., 99 
McNeil], William W., 329 
McWilliams, William, 1 70 
Meese, George C, 28'i 
Merrill, John G., 507 



INDEX. 



Miles, James A., 449 
Miller/David, 403 
Miller, George W., 444 
Miller, Joseph C, 1G8 
Mills, John H., 107 
Mink, Henry J., 456 
Mitchell, Charles R., 454 
Mitchell, Jonas A., 365 
Moffet, Elliot R., 521 
Monk, Charles, 461 
Monroe, Lynn, 100 
Moon, Parker, 41 1 
Mooneyham, R. A., 261 
Moore, John S., 145 
Moore, Robert A., 519 • 
Moore, Samuel C, 503 
Moyer, William A., 500 
Murphy, Patrick, (>•"> 
Myers, James, 4.'!.'! 
Myers, Joseph H., 162 

Nail, J. L., 419 
Nichols, James B., 391 
Nielson, Hans P., 481 
Nilson, John, 384 
Norsworthy, George C, 'XV.) 

Oliver, James W. , 471 
O'Neill, James, 137 
Onstott, Abraham W., 276 
Osborn, A. J.. 80 
Osborn, J. T. 490 
Owen, Carl, 109 

Palmer, T. E., 438 
Patrick, M. H., 505 
Pearson, George, 371 
Perdue, C. B., 418 
Phelps, William H., 88 
Pickerell, J. M., 486 
Poncot, Gustav, 477 
Poncot, Louis, 128 
Pool, G. T., 366 
Poundstone, Rezin F., 292 
Pratt, E. J., 12.1 
Price, William H., 470 
Purcell, James F., 182 

Quails, Sherman N., 257 

Rackerby, W. C, 357 
Rader, George, DO 
Ramsey, Samuel, 330 
Reece, William, 513 
Reed, Charles W. , 362 
Reed, F. W.,470 
Reel, James M., 231 
Rees, Freeman, 347 
Rice, C. A., 187 
Richardson, Jesse, 487 
Richardson, John M. 67 
Rinehart, Benjamin F., 186 



Kiseling, Edward, 107 
Riseling, Levi, 101 
Roach, Cornelius, 96 
Roach, James, 202 
Roach, James P., 322 
Robbins, William E., 307 
Robertson, James H., 350 
Robinson, John M., 288 
Roper, W. H., 331 
Ross, James S., 121 
Routzong, W. C, 242 
Rusk, W. II., 340 

Sailor, William J., 450 
Sansom, G. L. , 327 
Sayre, Edwin J., 141 
Schoolcraft, D. W,, 401 
Schooler, E. Lee, 380 
Schooler, Isaac, OS, .'!!)() 
Schooler, John N., 390 
Schooler, Sarah, 390 
Senter, William M.,4!>«.) 
Sergeant, John B., 0!) 
Sewall, William [., 129 
Shafer, William M.,309 
Shaffer, Charles G., 149 
Shaffer, loshua, 372 
Shaw, Daniel M., 328 
Shippen, John B., 2.11 
Sholl, D. V., 399 
Shouse, Davon, 300 
Skinner, Fritz E., 441 
Smith, Campbell A., 525 
Smith, E. D., 191 
Smith, Henry D., 147 
Smith, Hiram, 447 
Smith, James M., 373 
Smith, Stephen A., 194 
Snodgress, Hamilton, 199 
Spencer, John W., 220 
Springs, David T. , 506 
Spracklen, Edwin E., 471 
Staples, Marion, 200 
Stebbins, George W., 101 
Stemmons, J. M., 70 
Stewart, Joseph C, 156 
St. John, "George E., 443 
Stone, Lon, 302 
Stuckey, Silas A., 102 
Swanson, Swan, 221 

Taggart, Charles H., 39S 
Tangner, H. G., 318 
Taylor, John H., 421 
Thompson, Elmer E., 348 
Thornton, James C, 146 
Tilley, A. S., 475 
Trigg, John C, 142 
4" roup, James R., 122 
Tyler, Robert B., 126 

Vickrey, John, 502 



INDEX. 



Walker, G. B., 139 
Wampler, John, 180 
Warren, F. H., 267 
Warren, John C, 213 
Waters, William, 472 
Watson, Willis M., 496 
Watt, John H., 430 
Webb, Albert C, 188 
Webb, John C, 70 
Weeks, John M., 492 
Wheaton, George E., 246 
Wheeler, Isaac C, 388 
Whitworth, David M., 71 
Whitworth, JohnT., 397 
Widner, Martin, 222 
Wiggins, Thomas, 407 
Wilcox, Martin, 484 
Wild, James B., 91 



Williams, S. B., 177 
Williams, William M., 166 
Willoughby, John T., 72 
Wilson, N. U., 523 
Wilson, Robert A., 252 
Winter, Leslie W., 248 
Woodson, William H., 448 
Workizer, JohnG., 292 
Workizer, Charles J. G., 290 
Wormington, L. C, 296 
Wormington, T. B., 437 

Yaryan, J. T. B.,246 
Young, Jacob W., 73 
Ytell, Hans, 429 

Zook, Jesse A., 171 



HISTORY 

OF 

JASPER COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



Jasper county is located in southwestern Missouri, bordering on the state 
of Kansas, a little north of the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude and 
s bout forty miles north of the state line of Arkansas. Barton county bounds 
it on the north, parts of Dade and Lawrence counties on the east, and Newton 
county adjoins it on the south. The county contains about six hundred and 
fifty square miles or four hundred and sixteen thousand acres of land, being 
about thirty-one miles long from east to west and twenty-one miles wide 
from north to south. The average elevation above sea level is one thousand 
feet, the county being on the south and west slopes of the Ozark mountain 
range. About three-fourths of its surface is gently undulating, was origin- 
ally prairie land, and the balance was timbered, mostly of oak, with some 
hickory, walnut, sycamore and other varieties, skirting along and near the 
streams. The county is well watered, with many springs and streams. The 
principal streams are Spring river and Center creek, each of which form in 
Lawrence county, entering Jasper county at its eastern boundary, Center 
creek being about four miles south of Spring river and flowing nearly parallel 
to it, the whole length of the county, the two streams joining their waters near 
the western border of the state. These streams are fed by the north fork of 
Spring river, Coon creek, Dry fork, Buck branch, Turkey creek and by other 
smaller streams. Their fall is sufficient to afford good water-power to run 
many mills in the county. 

The county is divided into nearly two equal parts by Spring river. While 
the northern part is more fertile and better, as a rule, for agriculture, there is 
1 



io BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

much fertile land in the southern part ; and forming for the most part the great 
mineral belt of the county, the southern is by far the more valuable part of this 
wealthy county. 

Nature has done a great deal for Jasper county. The climate is mild and 
healthful. The winters are short and never severe. The springs and falls are 
long and pleasant, and summers, owing to the altitude and the prevalence, at 
all times, of a gentle breeze, are not extremely hot, with uniformly cool and 
refreshing nights. The soil is productive, consisting in the bottom lands of a 
rich, black loam, and in the valleys and on the prairies for the most part is a 
lich mulatto soil. While in some cases a stony or boulder formation appears 
on the surface, there is very little waste or hilly land. The soil, at a depth 
varying from two to four feet, is for the most part underlaid with a sediment- 
ary, overcapped with a glacial, formation, supported at varying depths by a 
number of sedimentary limestone strata. The northwestern part of the county 
is a different formation, being part of the great coal belt of Missouri and Kan- 
sas, and the soil consists of a smooth prairie and in some parts a sandy soil 
underlaid by a calcareous rock. The soil of the county is adapted to general 
farming, stock-raising and fruit-growing. Winter wheat, corn and oats are 
cultivated to a great extent. Dairying and the raising of cattle, horses, mules, 
hogs, sheep and all kinds of poultry are carried on extensively, together with 
gardening and fruit-raising. In good years the county has produced about 
two million bushels of wheat, which for the most part have been converted 
into flour by the large mills located in the cities and along the streams of the 
county. Jasper county excels in wheat-raising. Apples, peaches, cherries, 
pears and other fruits are grown. The raising of small fruits, such as straw- 
berries, blackberries and raspberries, is carried on extensively. The straw- 
berry crop of this county probably exceeds that of any other locality in the 
United States. The shipments of Jasper county's surplus products have, for 
many years, exceeded that of any other county in Missouri. The little city 
of Sarcoxie in each season ships over two hundred large refrigerator cars of 
strawberries — at one time shipping a full train of twenty-five cars in one day. 

While the soil, water and timber of Jasper county make her rich as an 
agricultural, stock-raising and fruit-growing region, it is her great mineral re- 
sources and her vast mining industries that are the foundation of her greatest 
natural wealth. In this county are found lead, zinc, building stone, limestone, 
and some coal, brick and potter's clay. There are also found evidences of oil 
deposits. 

The United States produces about one- fourth of the world's zinc supply, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. n 

and the greater part of this zinc product of the United States comes from the 
mines of Jasper county. The value of the product of the zinc mines of this 
county for the year ending June 30, 1900, amounted to $4,601,358, and the 
value of the annual lead product of the county for the same year was $780,022, 
making the total value of both lead and zinc $5,381,380. 

The lead ore is sulphide o>f lead, or soft galena, and the two forms of zinc 
ore are blende or zinc sulphide and silicate of zinc. The purest forms of galena 
consist of eighty-six per cent of lead and fourteen per cent of sulphur. 

The purest zinc blende runs sixty-six per cent zinc, and silicate of zinc 
contains from thirty to forty per cent of zinc. 

Geologically, this region belongs to the sub-carboniferous period. Lead 
and zinc ores are found together and in the same mines. Both of these min- 
erals are found at various depths, from sometimes near the surface to, as yet, 
unascertained depths. At present the greatest depth to which mines are 
worked is about two hundred and fifty feet. The most of the mineral is mined 
at from one to two hundred feet deep. The mineral is found in pockets, layers 
and fractures, the deeper deposits often showing regular strata or sheet forma- 
tion. 

Jasper county also has in her limestone ledges a superior quality of build- 
ing stone. It is hard, durable, possessing a tine grain and takes a bright, 
smooth polish — making it not only suitable for all forms of building, but also 
for monuments and walks. The walls of the court house in Carthage are 
built entirely of this stone, as are also the First National Bank building of 
Carthage, and other buildings in Joplin and Carthage. It is now extensively 
quarried and shipped, the various quarry companies operating along the bluffs 
of Spring river, near Carthage, and along Center creek, shipping about forty 
carloads per week. 

Lime and brick are also burned and shipped. 

Coal is mined extensively at Pittsburg and Weir Qity in Kansas, and at 
Minden in Barton county, Missouri, adjoining Jasper county, and to- some ex- 
tent in the northwestern part of Jasper county. It is also found in pocket 
formations and is mined near Carthage and northwest of there. 

Among other transformations in Jasper county has been the character of 
wagon roads. From the rough natural roads originally traveled, the county 
now contains some of the best roads in the state. Added to a soil peculiarly 
fitted to making roads, the expenditure of the necessary money and labor, with 
gravel from her mines furnishing the macadam, have brought about this result. 



12 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

The county has now some fifteen rural mail delivery routes, six of that 
number running out from Carthage. 

ORGANIZATION AND EARLY SETTLEMENT. 

jasper county was organized in the year 1841. Crawford county had 
been organized in the year 1829, with Little Piney, on the Gasconade river, 
as its county seat, and the first movement which had for its object bringing 
southwestern Missouri under a local or county government was an act of the 
Legislature, approved January, 1831, which provided that "all that territory 
lying south and west of Crawford county, which is not included in the limits 
of any county shall be attached to said county of Crawford for all civil and 
military purposes, until otherwise provided by law." 

In 1833 Greene county was formed out of the territory temporarily at- 
tached to Crawford county, as above, embracing all the territory lying between 
the Osage river on the north, and the Arkansas line on the south, and extend- 
ing from what is now the line of Kansas and the Indian Territory, on the west, 
one-half of the way, eastward, across the state. Springfield, then as now, was 
the county seat of Greene county. 

Barry county, from that part of Greene county embracing what is now 
the counties of Barry, Lawrence, Dade, Barton, Jasper, Newton and McDon- 
ald, was organized in 1835. Mount Pleasant, near where Pierce City now 
stands, was made the county seat of Barry county. 

In 1839 Newton county was formed from the western part of Barry, 
embracing what is now Newton, McDonald, Jasper and Barton counties. 

Then followed the act of the Legislature, approved January 29, 1841, by 
which "a separate and distinct county to be known by the name of Jasper," was 
created from the northern part of Newton county, including the territory now 
embraced in Jasper and Barton counties, except that a strip two miles wide 
off the south side of what is now Jasper county, was retained as part of New- 
ton county. On this strip of land are now situated the city of Sarcoxie and a 
considerable part of the city of Joplin. While Hon. John M. Richardson was 
a member of the Legislature as the representative of both counties and 
through his efforts a change in the boundary line between the counties was 
effected in the year 1845, °y r which this additional strip, including the town 
of Sarcoxie, was taken from Newton county and added to Jasper. 

The act creating the new county of Jasper provided for the appointment 
of commissioners to select the ''permanent seat of justice" for the new county. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 13 

which was to be located "as near the center of the inhabitable part of said 
county as practicable, due regard being had to the situation." The circuit and 
county courts were to be held at the dwelling house .of George Hornback until 
the permanent seat of justice was established or until the county court should 
otherwise direct. The house of George Hornback, referred to, was located on 
the south bank of Spring river about two miles west of the present city of 
Carthage. 

Samuel M. Cooley, Jeremiah Cravens and Samuel B. Bright having 
been appointed by the Governor justices of the county court, they met at the 
house of George Hornback on Thursday, the 25th day of February, 1841, 
and organized the first county court of Jasper county, thus setting in motion 
the machinery of a county government. Ellwood B. James was appointed 
clerk of the circuit and county courts and ex-ofhcio recorder of deeds, which 
offices he continued to hold by successive elections until the beginning of the 
year 1859. However, during the summer of 1841, an election was held for 
county officers, and James H. Faris was elected clerk of the circuit and county 
courts and qualified as such, but before assuming office he died, and. at a spe- 
cial election to fill the vacancy, Mr. James was elected for a term of six years, 
and his incumbency of the office was not interrupted by the election of Mr. 
Faris. 

The other appointments by the county court at its first session were: 
Samuel M. Cooley, presiding justice of the court; George Hornback, county 
treasurer; John Hopkins, county assessor; and Clisby Robinson, public ad- 
ministrator. John P. Osborn had been appointed the first sheriff of the county 
by the Governor. 

The county court continued to hold its sessions at the house of George 
Hornback until the 28th of March, 1842, when it met at the house of John 
Pennington, which was situated on the hill south of Spring river and just 
south of where the Carthage Woolen Mills now stand in the city of Carthage. 

The commissioners appointed for that purpose reported that they had 
selected the land south of and adjoining Mr. Pennington's residence for the 
"permanent seat of justice of Jasper county," the county court thereupon 
named the county seat "Carthage," and on the 19th of August, 1842, the 
•county court, for the first time, convened at the "Court house in Carthage." 

Barton county was formed from what was formerly the northern part of 
Jasper county, in the year 1855, and since that year Jasper county has em- 
braced its present boundaries. 

So far as known no tribes of Indians were ever permanently located 



14 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

here, but this region was a favorite hunting and fishing ground for them. 
The clear and sparkling streams abounded in fish, and the prairies and timber 
lands sustained various kinds of game, especially deer, wild turkeys, quail and 
prairie chickens. 

The Delaware Indians were early located near Springfield, on James 
river, and the Osages near Fort Scott, Kansas, and were in the habit of mak- 
ing frequent visits to this region before and after white people settled here. 
Later the Ouapaws, Cherokees and Shawnees were settled in the Indian ter- 
ritory, near the southwest corner of Jasper county. Prior to its settlement the 
county had been traversed, also, by the white frontiersmen in hunting and 
trapping expeditions. There are traditions and evidences of Spanish adven- 
turers, at a very early date, stopping for a time, searching for gold and silver ; 
and they doubtless made the first discoveries of lead. 

The first permanent settlement of Jasper county was in the year 1831. 
In that year Thacker Vivion emigrated from the state of Kentucky and located 
in the southeast corner of what afterwards became Jasper county, on Center 
creek, at the site of what is now the city of Sarcoxie. In that same year John 
M. Fullerton came from Kentucky and settled near Vivion. 

The early settlers, for the most part, came from Tennessee and North 
Carolina, and some came from Kentucky, Illinois and other states. They gen- 
erally located along the streams, principally on Center creek and Spring river. 
The prairie lands were, as a rule, only regarded as fit for grazing, and not suit- 
able for cultivation. 

In 1833 Ephraim Beasley and Hiram Hanford also settled near Sarcoxie. 
Ephraim Jenkins settled south of Center creek on what afterwards was known 
;is Jenkins creek. Isaac Seela with his family also' settled near Sarcoxie. 
Abraham Onstott with his family, Thomas Boxley, Tryon Gibson, Isaac Gib- 
son, William Gibson and John W. Gibson settled on Center creek south and 
southwest of where Carthage now stands. 

Abraham Onstott had emigrated from North Carolina, stopping for a 
time in Kentucky and Indiana, and later, as early as 181 6, when Missouri was 
still a territory, he settled in what is now Pike county, Missouri. In 1832 he 
visited what is now Jasper county to look at the country, and the next year 
moved with his familv to this countv. His neighbors, Isaac Seela and Trvon 
Gibson and their families, accompanied him from Pike county. Judge John 
Onstott, the son of Abraham Onstott, who came with his father at that time, 
and William Seela and John N. U. Seela, then little sons of Isaac Seela, have 
resided in Jasper county longer than any other living residents of the county. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 15 

Judge Onstott, the oldest living pioneer settler of this county, has spent a long 
and most eventful life in this county and will be gratefully remembered for 
his sacrifices for the interests of the people of this county and his sterling in- 
tegrity. 

In addition to the above, among those who came to this county prior to 
1840, before the organization of the count}-, were: William Tingle, Benja- 
min F. Massey, John M. Richardson, B. W. W. Richardson, James Hornback, 
John Hornback, David Lemasters, Ellwood B. James, Montalbon M. James, 
Hannibal James, Josiah Boyd, John C. Cox, Elijah P. Dale, and Robert J. 
Dale, his son George Hornback, Joohn Prigmore, John P. Osborn, Claiborn 
Osborn, William Duncan, John Henry, John Halsell, Samuel M. Cooley, 
Jeremiah Cravens, Samuel B. Bright, John R. Chenault, William M. Chen- 
ault, Clisby Robinson, Thomas A. Dale, Thomas Buck, James N. Langley, 
Dr. David F. Moss, William Spencer, Calvin Robinson, Rev. John Robinson, 
Banister Hickey, Middleton Hickey, Milton Stevenson, J. G. L. Carter, Robert 
R. Laxson, Washington Robinson, Nelson Knight, Rev. Greenville Spencer, 
Rev. Anthony Bewley, Rev. William H. Farmer, Charles Vivian (a relative 
of Thacker Vivian), Judge Daniel Hunt, Judge Rice Challis, Judge Andrew 
McKee, Hiram Thompson and John D. Thompson. 

Many of these have held places of trust and honor. They endured the 
hardships and privations incident to a new country. They led honorable lives, 
and many of their descendants are among the best and most highly respected 
citizens of this county to-day. 

Hon. John M. Richardson represented this and Newton county in the 
Legislature in 1845-6, and was Secretary of State of Missouri from 1853 to 
1857, and was succeeded in the latter office by Hon. Benjamin F. Massey from 
1857 to i860. Among other things, Colonel Richardson enjoyed the distinc- 
tion of being one of the eleven voters who, in i860, cast a vote for Abraham 
Lincoln. John R. Chenault served as Circuit Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial 
Circuit from 1857 until courts were suspended by the war. Samuel M. Cooley, 
Jeremiah Cravens, Samuel B. Bright, Josiah Boyd, John Onstott, Milton 
Stevenson, Andrew McKee, Rice Challis, Daniel Hunt and John Hornback 
were Justices of the county court. Isaac Gibson served as Sheriff of Newton 
county before the organization of Jasper county. 

Robert J. Dale, one of the pioneer settlers of Jasper county, who still lives 
in Carthage, first settled with his father, Elijah P. Dale, just east of where the 
city of Joplin now stands. 



16 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

The first postoffice established west of Sarcoxie was at Blytheville, in 
1840, with Elijah P. Dale as postmaster, and Robert J. Dale carried the mail 
once a week from Sarcoxie to Blytheville. On this route two other offices 
were afterward established, one a t t Diamond Grove, with J. W. Walker, post- 
master, and another at Jenkins Creek, Major William Dunn, postmaster. 

Thacker Vivian moved from Sarcoxie to a farm near to what is now 
Carl Junction, erecting a brick house thereon, and in 1843 or J S44 moved to 
Texas. The farm was afterward owned by his son, John Vivian, and his de- 
scendants, the widow of John Vivian, and daughter, Mrs. Jameson, together 
with the great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren of Thacker 
Vivian, the first settler of the county, still reside at Carl Junction, and the 
Vivian farm at that place has proved to be valuable mineral land. 

None of the land of the county was surveyed and subject to entry from 
the government until 1836, and then only that lying east of range 31. The 
land lying west of range 30 was not surveyed until some years later. The 
county remained sparsely settled until after the Civil war, farming and stock- 
raising, with some little mining of lead, being about the only industries. The 
people, before the war came to disturb conditions, were contented and measur- 
ably prosperous, and were gradually improving their material conditions. 
Frame and brick houses were supplanting the primitive log structures ; public 
schools were established and encouraged. A few plain church structures had 
been built at different places in the county ; religious services were held in them 
and in school houses, and often in private residences and at the old-time camp- 
meetings. 

Mills were erected along Spring river and Center creek — all run by water 
power. People raised their own breadstuffs, fruit, vegetables and meats, and 
to a great extent manufactured and made up their own clothing. The old- 
fashioned and healthful wood fireplace supplied necessary heating and to a 
great extent the means for cooking. It did not require much money to pro- 
vide a good living, but the people lived largely within themselves by their own 
individual industry and the exchange of commodities between neighbors. 
The principal towns were Sarcoxie and Carthage and while they had not made 
a large growth they were building up in a very substantial way. Carthage 
could boast of a two-story brick court house, a brick academy, brick jail and 
a number of brick business houses and residences. 

These were the conditions at the time of the breaking out of the Civil 
war. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 17 

THE WAR AND ITS INCIDENTS. 

The results of the Civil war of 186 1-5 were very disastrous to south- 
western Missouri and especially to Jasper county. The war almost depop- 
ulated the county. Towns and farm buildings and other improvements were 
destroyed. So great were the destruction and change of conditions that after 
the war but little remained save the mere natural physical features of the 
country., dotted over here and there with the ruins of former homes. 

Before the war the population of Jasper county was almost wholly of 
southern birth and quite a number of her citizens were slave owners. There 
had been practically one sentiment prevailing on the slavery question. Polit- 
ically people were either Whigs or Democrats, the Democrats being in the 
majority. Of course, the Republican party had no organization or following 
in Jasper county. There had never been much political excitement, and 
men were elected to local offices largely on their personal popularity, without 
considering their political views. With the election of Lincoln and the 

movement throughout the south in favor of secession from the Union the 
feeling and excitement which soon culminated in war were aroused here as 
elsewhere, only more intense in these border states than anywhere else, and 
old neighbors and former friends were soon estranged and became bitter 
enemies. A state convention had been called to consider the position Mis- 
souri should take on the all absorbing question of secession. This convention 
met at Jefferson City, and while a sentiment in favor of adhering to the 
Union prevailed no definite action was ever taken. John R. Chenault, of 
Jasper county, was a member of the convention and acted with the seces- 
sionists. The sentiment in Jasper county was almost equally divided between 
the secession and Union parties. After actual war commenced in April, 
1 861, the bitterness between these parties increased and it was not long until 
hostilities broke forth in Jasper county in full force. The battle of Carthage 
was fought as early as the 5th of July, 1861. The Confederates in this 
state, along with the governor, Claiborne F. Jackson, having been forced to 
leave the capital, first retired to Boonville and from thence, in June, 1861, 
retreated southward, intending to establish themselves in southwest Mis- 
souri. General Sterling Price was already in McDonald county organ- 
izing an army, when the governor with his generals and forces under 
him started south from Boonville. General James S. Rains, a citizen 
of Jasper county and at that time the state senator from this senator- 
ial district, had been assigned a command of some of these troops, 



1 8 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

the state troops with the governor being commanded by Generals Par- 
sons and Rains. Their object no doubt was to make a junction with 
General Price's army. In the meantime the federal forces were active, and 
having first gained control of St. Louis and central Missouri federal troops 
had been sent to Springfield in the southwest. In the beginning of July 
General Franz Sigel, with a small force of eleven hundred men, marched 
from Springfield to Neosho, probably with the intention of watching the 
movements of the enemy and preventing, if possible, a junction of Governor 
Jackson's forces with those of General Price. Arriving at Neosho-, in Newton 
county, on the 3d of July, on the 4th the march was made to Carthage, and 
on the morning of the 5th General Sigel's command marched to a point just 
beyond Dry Fork creek, some seven miles north of Carthage, where on the 
prairie it encountered the force with Governor Jackson, numbering some 
five thousand state troops. It may be General Sigel expected another Federal 
force to follow Jackson from the north, and that while he encountered the 
Confederates in front another Federal force would soon come up in their 
rear, but if this was his expectation he was disappointed. The Confederates, 
although having the advantage in numbers, were not so- well armed or dis- 
ciplined as Sigel's men. The fighting commenced in the forenoon and con- 
tinued through the day. Sigel had some artillery and the Confederates had 
none. Sigel would keep up the fight with the enemy in his front until General 
Rains' force of mounted men, poorly armed, however, would seek to flank 
him and get in his rear, when he would be compelled to turn his fire on it, 
at the same time gradually retreating towards Carthage. The battle con- 
tinued until Carthage was reached, the last of the fighting being in the town. 
As night came on Sigel withdrew his force to the east, on the road toward 
Springfield, and the Confederates were glad to let him go* and did not follow 
him beyond Carthage. 

After General Sigel had started north from Neosho runners from there 
were sent to inform General Price of the movement, on learning of which, 
General Price with his command started for Carthage. On the day after 
the battle at what is now the Corwine farm, three miles south of Carthage, 
the governor's force was joined by that under General Price, where they 
rejoiced greatly on account of their "victory over the Dutch." The losses 
to Sigel's command in this battle are stated to be eight killed and forty-five 
wounded. The losses of the other side were considerably greater, being in 
the neighborhood of two hundred and fifty in both killed and wounded. 

After this battle and during the whole course of the war the county 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 19 

became a field for almost constant irregular fighting, robbing and destruction 
of property, in which ihe rules of civilized warfare were disregarded. All 
civil government was suspended and the county was not permanently under 
the military control of either army. Especially was this the condition of 
the western two-thirds of the county, including the town of Carthage. The 
eastern part of the county, including the town of Sarcoxie, had some pro- 
tection from detachments of Federal troops sent out from Springfield and 
from its own militia organization. Nearly all the inhabitants of the county 
were forced to join either one army or the other or entirely leave the country. 
Many went to Texas and settled there permanently- Those of Union sym- 
pathies went into Kansas or further north. 

Among the first acts of violence committed in the county after war had 
commenced was the robbery and murder of George W. Broome, which 
occurred in the summer of 1861. Mr. Broome was a native of Georgia and 
had resided in Jasper county a number of years, a young man, unmarried and 
living on his farm at Georgia City. He was quite wealthy, owning several 
thousand acres of land and was engaged in stock-raising and farming. He 
also owned a number of slaves, besides a large amount of other personal 
property, and was understood to have a considerable sum in money. A body 
of men, supposed to » have been mainly from across the state line in Kansas, 
came to Broome's house in the daytime and murdered him, burned his house, 
seized and carried away his money and much personal property. This was 
the first assassination and robbery occurring after the breaking out of war, 
and aroused a strong feeling for revenge among Broome's friends, who 
charged some of Broome's neighbors with complicity in the outrage. Some 
of Broome's friends, citizens of Jasper county, soon after this, one night 
took out John Ireland, who lived near Broome, and after giving him a form 
of trial on the charge of participation in the murder of Broome hung him. 
Some prominent citizens of the county were aftenvard charged with a part 
in the hanging of Ireland. These events were only a prelude to the condi- 
tions which prevailed afterward. 

Thomas R. Livingston, formerly a merchant and lead miner and smelter 
at a place near Minersville, called French Point, on Center creek, organized 
and led a company of men who carried on a guerrilla warfare throughout 
this region and are charged with much of the incendiarism and destruction 
of life and property occurring in this county. 

Quantrell's band, which raided the city of Lawrence, Kansas, operated 
in Jasper county, and also another force, charged with burning the court 



20 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

house at Carthage in October, 1863, and other similar acts, was Anderson's 
company of Confederates. These various local organizations operated inde- 
pendently of any of the main armies, and were controlled by none of the 
restraints of military discipline which applied to the armies of either side. 

Colonel Ritchey's command of Federal Indians is charged with the mur- 
der of many inoffensive people, and with arson, robbery and with much 
wanton destruction of property. 

There were also irregular bands of persons bent on robbery passing back 
and forth over the border between Missouri, Kansas and the Indian Territory, 
killing, robbing and destroying without much regard to whether their vic- 
tims' sympathies and affiliations were with one side or the other. 

As a result of this state of affairs the town of Carthage was destroyed — 
the court house being burned in October, 1863 — and farm houses and farm 
improvements were mostly burned and destroyed. At the close of the war all 
that remained of Carthage was less than a dozen dwellings of the poorer sort, 
all else, including court house, jail, academy, business houses and dwelling- 
houses, were destroyed, and the town was a heap of rubbish, exposing to view 
open cellars, standing chimneys and occasionally part of the brick walls of 
what had been some of the more pretentious buildings. Before the war 
closed nearly all the inhabitants of the central and western part of the county 
who lived to tell the tale of their privations and sufferings had been com- 
pelled to leave the county and seek safety elsewhere. 

Other prominent instances of arson and murder were the murder of 
Dr. Jaquillian M. Stemmons and the burning of his residence. Dr. Stem- 
mons was a pronounced Union man. In the spring of 1862 his house, located 
on his farm about three and a half miles northeast of Avilla, was surrounded 
by a band of men at night, and his house set on fire and he was shot down. 
The other members of his family escaped unhurt. The supposed cause for 
this attack was that a man, claiming to be a recruiting officer for the Federal 
army, along with a few of his recruits, were stopping at Dr. Stemmons'. 
Also James G. Ennis was killed at his home south of Georgia City by Indians 
supposed to belong to Colonel Ritchey's command, and his wife was so 
severely tortured as to render her a cripple for life. 

Archibald McCoy was a leading lawyer at Carthage before and at the 
breaking out of the war, and was the county treasurer when the war broke 
out. Mr. McCoy was a native of Ohio, and an active, outspoken Union 
man. As the war progressed McCoy was much concerned for the safety of 
the county's money in his custody, especially after Governor Jackson and 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 21 

his forces came into this region. Knowing the governor to be greatly in 
need of money to equip an army, McCoy concluded his safest course was, 
at least temporarily, to turn the county's money over to some good man 
known as a Confederate sympathizer. So, at his request, his sureties called 
1 in him and it was decided that the money should be placed in the hands of 
John J. Scott, who had been McCoy's predecessor as treasurer. It is certain 
that McCoy if he had 10 give up the money was anxious to place it in hands 
that would preserve it for the county and would not aid the Confederates 
with it. This matter was kept as quiet as possible. Mr. Scott kept the money 
safely until in October, t86i, and fearing longer to remain in Jasper county 
he prevailed on Judge John Onstott, one of McCoy's sureties on his bond, to 
take the money for safe keeping. He accordingly paid over to Judge Onstott 
the sums of one thousand and fifty dollars in gold and two hundred dollars 
in paper money. No one except John B. Dale, Onstott's wife and his little 
son. Abe W. .Onstott, knew of his having this money. He kept the gold 
buried in the ground for nearly the whole four years it was in his custody, 
his son Abe alone knowing the spot where it was buried. It not being safe, 
for fear of its rotting, to bury the paper money, Mrs. Onstott carried it 
much of the time on her person until she was robbed of it by Colonel Ritchey's 
Indians. Judge Onstott remained quietly on his farm on Center creek until 
June, 1864, not taking any part in the war. By that time it became so dan- 
gerous to remain longer that he went to another part of the state temporarily, 
and his family soon followed him, taking the county's gold with them. He 
remained away until August, 1865, and upon the reorganization of the 
county government in the fall of 1865 Judge Onstott paid over to the newly 
appointed treasurer of the county all this money in the identical coin he had 
received from Mr. Scott. This gold during this time was at a high premium 
over greenbacks. If it had been suspected by the armed bands marauding 
the country that Judge Onstott was the custodian of this money they would 
have resorted to every form of violence and torture conceivable to compel 
him to give it up. Upon paying" the money into the county treasury he 
related to the new county court the circumstances of his having received the 
two hundred dollars paper money and its loss, but the court insisting - that 
he pay that money also, Judge Onstott sold his team and wagon to get the 
money and paid it to the treasurer in addition to the gold he had paid. In 
1874, the first time after the war that a Democrat was elected to office in this 
county, Judge Onstott was elected county treasurer, holding the office by 
re-election for three successive terms. 



22 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Mr. McCoy remained in Jasper county until the early part of 1862, and 
feeling compelled to leave the county for his personal safety he started for 
Fort Scott, Kansas, but never arrived at his destination. His fate was 
long in doubt; his friends, continuing to hope him alive, made strenuous efforts 
to find him. Near the time of McCoy's disappearance a Confederate force 
under command of General (now United States senator) Francis M. Cock- 
erill, passed south through this region, and it was first supposed that Mr. 
McCoy had been taken a prisoner by this force, and to seek to insure Mr. 
McCoy's safety and as a retaliatory measure the commander of a Federal 
force at Fort Scott, Kansas, sent to Jasper county and arrested William 
Tingle and John Ffalsell to hold as hostages for the safety of McCoy. It 
was later ascertained that McCoy had never been a prisoner of General 
Cockerill's command, and Tingle and Ffalsell were released and nothing 
could be learned of Mr. McCoy. It has since developed that Mr. McCoy 
went to Lamar on his way to Fort Scott and was there taken prisoner by 
either Quantrell's or Anderson's men, who took him to near Lone Jack in 
"Jackson county and there shot and killed him. 

Stanfield Ross was clerk of the circuit and county courts and ex-officio 
recorder of deeds of the county at the breaking out of the war, having been 
elected as the successor of Ellwood B. James at the election in 1858. As the 
county court at that time had probate jurisdiction he was the custodian of all 
the county records and valuable papers. By the movement of the Confederate 
forces to the south and Governor Jackson establishing his movable state 
capital at Neosho, following the battle of Carthage, that town became tem- 
porarily the Confederate state and military headquarters of Missouri. Mr. 
Ross not only accompanied Governor Jackson and the Confederate army 
to Neosho, but he took with him the Jasper county records and files of his 
office. Soon afterward by a Union military movement from Springfield 
the Confederates were compelled to abandon Neosho rather precipitately and 
Mr. Ross left with them, leaving the Jasper county records and papers in 
Neosho. Norris C. Hood, of Carthage, ex-sheriff of the county, and a 
Union man, learning of the condition of the county records, went to Neosho 
and loading them into wagons brought them to Carthage, and from thence 
he took them with his family to Fort Scott, Kansas, for safety, and where 
he kept them during the war, returning them to the proper authorities when 
the county was reorganized in 1865. Thus all of Jasper county's deeds and 
court records were preserved from destruction during the war. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 23 

CONDITIONS AND PROGRESS AFTER THE WAR. 

The return of peace found Jasper county almost depopulated. Mail 
routes and postoffices had been discontinued, and the courts and all local 
civil government suspended. 

In February, 1865, the legislature passed a law authorizing the holding 
of the circuit and county courts at a house to be designated by the sheriff 
at or near Cave Springs, but the county was not reorganized and the various 
officers appointed to fill vacancies existing, until in August, 1865. There 
was no place left in which to hold court at Carthage, hence by authority of 
the above mentioned law the sheriff recently appointed designated the brick 
school house near Cave Springs as the place to hold the courts until the 
county should provide a place at the county seat. 

This school house was about three miles northeast of Sarcoxie, about 
two hundred feet from Cave Springs, near the residence of William Duncan 
and close to the line of Lawrence county. It consisted of two rooms, both 
on the ground floor, and had been known also' as the Cave Springs Academy. 

The clerk's office, with the county records, occupied one of the rooms and 
the other was reserved for the use of the courts. This place was practically 
the county seat from August, 1865, until June, 1866, and courts were all 
held there. By June, 1866. the walls of the old county jail at Carthage, 
which were left partly standing, had been rebuilt to the height of one story 
and roofed over and a brick floor laid, making only one room of the size 
about sixteen by twenty-four feet, and this one room served as clerk's office 
and court room, besides being used for religious meetings of all kinds for 
about one year. 

On the re-establishment of the civil authorities many of the old settlers, 
who had been compelled to leave, returned to find, in many instances, their 
homes and improvements destroyed. Many had died and many others had 
established homes in other places, south and north, and never returned. 

Northern troops had marched through and been stationed at times in 
Jasper county, especially from Iowa, Illinois and Kansas, and many of these 
soldiers so greatly admired the climate and natural resources of the country 
that they resolved to return here at the close of the war. Nearly all the old 
settlers who had been Union men during the war were now Republicans in 
their politics. Those who had borne arms for or sympathized with the Con- 
federacy were disfranchised by law from voting, so that the Republican party 
was in control of the national and state governments and of the local offices. 



24 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

It was not possible that the bitter feelings engendered by four years of war 
would at once subside, yet as a rule good order prevailed. Aside from the 
fact that two or three persons were, during the first year or two succeeding 
the war, waylaid and shot on account of old grudges there was no serious 
trouble. Every man, as a rule, went armed, carrying two large revolvers 
strapped to his person, outside his clothing, and was prepared to defend his 
person and home. Strangers and new comers were welcomed and treated 
with great hospitality. 

Rolla, to the northeast, and Sedalia, north, were the two nearest rail- 
road points, each about one hundred and forty miles distant, and freight was 
all hauled by wagon from these points. Notwithstanding the drawbacks, 
the settlement of the county was rapid. There were large bodies of land 
to sell at low prices. Those who had their farms in condition to raise crops 
found a ready market, at high prices, for all grains, fruit and produce at their 
doors, selling to new settlers and others who were not so fortunately sit- 
uated. During those first years after the war corn, wheat and apples often 
sold as high as one dollar and a half per bushel. 

Commencing with 1866 a large immigration flowed into Jasper county, 
mostly from northern states. The mild and salubrious climate, productive 
soil and the well watered and timbered country rendered Jasper county an 
inviting spot. The counties north of this used to complain that from nearly 
all the covered wagons, laden with immigrants, the response was that they 
were "bound for J-as-pttv county," with the accent prolonged on the first 
syllable of the word Jasper, and they could not be induced to stop elsewhere. 

In later years the wonderful mineral resources of the county induced 
another character of immigration and the building up of cities and towns. 
By the census of 1850 Jasper county had a population of 4,223. In i860 
she had 6,883 — °f the last number 350 were negro slaves; and notwith- 
standing the war and its ravages by 1870 the population increased to 14,- 
928. In 1880 it was increased to 32,019; 1890 it was 50,500, and in 1900 
it was 84,018, for more than ten years this county having been the third 
county in the state in population — the city of St. Louis and the counties of 
Jackson and Buchanan, of the one hundred and fifteen counties in Missouri, 
alone exceeding the population of this county. 

The increase in population for the last twenty years has been mainly 
in the cities, towns and mining districts. The city of Joplin, with a popula- 
tion of 26,023 m 1900, is now the fourth city in size in the state. Carthage, 
with 9,416, is the ninth city, and Webb City, with 9,201, is the tenth city; 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 25 

besides these three cities are several fourth-class cities, Cartervill,e, with 4,445 
population, Oronogo, 2,073, and Sarcoxie, 1,126. 

In October, 1866, a threatening and unlooked for invasion of the county- 
occurred, which for a time was a source of alarm to the inhabitants. Like 
the old plague of the ancients, it was the grasshopper, rather grasshoppers — 
grasshoppers almost as numerous as sands on the seashore. They came from 
the west, flying through the air in such numbers as to obscure the light of 
the sun. As they alighted they covered the earth everywhere. In a day or 
two following their coming they had devoured every spear of grass, the 
newly sprouted wheat and every other form of vegetation, leaving the ground 
bare. When heavy frosts came they became dormant and died, and those 
persons who resowed their wheat raised a good crop the next season. In 
the spring of 1867, with the coming of warm weather, young grasshoppers 
hatched out from the eggs deposited in the earth the fall previous, and 
although this for a short time caused alarm to many persons, they soon dis- 
appeared and no further harm resulted. This visitation of the grasshopper, 
however, did not extend to the eastern line of the county, but only a few 
miles east of Carthage. 

A special feature that induced the early immigration to Jasper county,, 
after the war, was the sales of the so-called "swamp lands" at the low prices, 
and favorable terms of payment offered to settlers, and the advertising of the 
advantages of this county by the vendors of these lands. Now there are 
no swamps in Jasper county any more than there are snakes in Ireland , the 
natural drainage being such as not to allow their formation. However, in 
the year 1850 the congress of the United States passed an act to enable the 
states of Arkansas and Missouri and other states to reclaim the swamp and 
overflowed lands within their boundaries, by granting all such lands to the 
states, respectively, in which they were situated, in aid of schools. The state 
of Missouri in turn granted these lands to the respective counties wherein 
they were located. While the fact is notorious that no lands answering the 
description of those designated by the law are within the borders of Jasper 
county, commissioners were appointed who selected and reported practically 
all the lands owned by the government in Jasper county as "swamp and oxer- 
flowed lands." These selections were confirmed in the year 1857, embrac- 
ing- about one hundred and twenty-five thousand acres in Jasper county, and 
being nearly all fine prairie land, among the best farming lands of the county. 
The title to all these lands vested in the county and the lands became subject 
to sale by the county, the proceeds constituting a permanent school fund,. 
2 



26 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

which is loaned by the county court, and the yearly interest is distributed to 
the school districts for the maintenance of public schools. This is the prin- 
cipal source of Jasper county's great public school fund of two hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars. During the years 1857 and 1858 the county disposed 
of these lands, first selling" in tracts of quarter-sections and over to individuals 
at one dollar per acre, and latterly selling all oi the remainder of these lands, 
about ninety thousand acres, in bulk, to George E. Ward, of Barton county, 
John M. Richardson being a silent partner with Ward in the purchase. The- 
lands were sold to Ward at ninety cents an acre, and the county took Ward's 
note with security bearing ten per cent, interest per annum for the purchase 
price, due in one year from the date of purchase, and the county also retained 
the legal title to the land until it should be paid for. George E. Ward died 
during the war without making payment for these lands. In 1866 the interest 
of Ward's estate and of John M. Richardson to about seventy-five thousand 
acres of these lands was sold to William Frazier, of Ohio, Frazier assuming 
to pay the county's claim, which amounted, in June, 1866, to one dollar and 
sixty-four cents per acre, and which the county treated thereafter as principal 
of the fund. In 1867 Frazier's interest in most of these lands was sold by 
him to G. A. Cassil and some associates. Mr. Cassil came to Carthage and 
immediately commenced to make sales of the land at quite reasonable prices 
and liberal terms of payment. 

Prior to the year j 869 Jasper county was remote from railroads. In 
the early days merchandise was hauled by wagon from Boonville on the 
Missouri river, having" been shipped by boat from St. Louis to that place. 
Salt and other kinds of heavy freight were often shipped by boat to- the town 
of Finn Creek on the Osage river, when the stage of water in the Osage would 
admit of navigation, and was then hauled from that place by wagon. Pig 
lead was hauled in wagons to these points for shipment, and on the return 
trip merchandise was hauled. In 18G9 the Missouri River, Fort Scott & 
Gulf Railroad, then commonly known as the "J a Y Road'' (and now the 
Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad), was completed from Kansas 
City through the eastern border counties of Kansas to Baxter Springs, and 
soon after this the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad (now the St. Louis & San 
Francisco Railway) was built from its former terminus, Rolla, to Neosho. 
Neither of these railroads touched Jasper county, and its prospect for a 
railroad for several years was not encouraging. The enterprising citizens 
of the county felt the need of railroad facilities and were anxious for the 
building of a railroad into the county. The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Rail- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 27 

road was then building south from Sedalia under a charter granted in this 
state to the Tebo & Neosho Railroad Company, which authorized the build- 
ing of a railroad from the line of the Missouri Pacific Railroad in a south- 
west direction and to leave the state south of the northwest corner of Jasper 
county. Notwithstanding its charter provision and the activity of Jasper 
county citizens in favor of its building into this county, this railroad was 
built from Sedalia to Fort Scott, Kansas, and thence to Texas, and all efforts 
for its building into Jasper county were unsuccessful, as were also efforts 
to bring other railroads, until finally, in the year 1871, L. P. Cunningham, 
then a lawyer at Carthage and an extensive real estate owner — now living 
in Joplin — and E. H. Brown, another citizen of Carthage, organized a local 
railroad corporation, under the name of the Memphis, Carthage & North- 
western Railroad Company, of which Mr. Cunningham was president and 
Mr. Brown secretary, to build from Pierce City on the Atlantic & Pacific 
Railroad, passing through Sarcoxie, Carthage and Oronogo into the state 
of Kansas. They obtained bonds to be issued on behalf of Peirce township 
in Lawrence county, and Sarcoxie, Marion and Mineral townships in Jasper 
county, and, securing the aid of capitalists interested in the Atlantic & Pacific 
Railroad, this railroad was completed through the county in 1872, and is now 
part of the main line of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway running 
from St. Louis to Wichita and Ellsworth, Kansas. In 1878 a branch of this 
railroad was built from Oronogo through Webb City to Joplin and has since 
been extended to Galena, Kansas. Until the building of the Memphis, Carth- 
age & Northwestern Railroad Jasper county had no railroad within her bor- 
ders. Now she can boast of more miles of railroad than any other county 
in the state. 

The next railroad built in the county was the Joplin & Girard Railroad, 
built from Girard, Kansas, to Joplin in 1876. This, too, was a local enter- 
prise by Joplin's two pioneer citizens, Elliott R. Moffett and John B. Ser- 
geant, the two men who first discovered the mines at Joplin. This was the 
first railroad built to Joplin. Now that city has five railroads. This rail- 
road has also become part of the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway system. 

E. H. Brown, after his experience in helping build the Memphis, Carthage 
& Northwestern Railroad, obtained control of the charter granted the Lex- 
ington & Southern Railroad Company, and after beginning the construction 
of this railroad from Pleasant Hill, on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, south, 
he interested Jay Gould in the enterprise, and mainly through Mr. Brown's 
efforts the Lexington and Southern branch of the Missouri Pacific Railroad 



28 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

system was built in the year 1880, from the north into Jasper county, through 
Jasper, Carytown, Carthage, Carterville, Webb City and Joplin to Galena, 
Kansas. 

In 1880 the Missouri River, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad was extended 
east from Baxter Springs to Joplin, Webb City and Carterville, and also, about 
that time being built from Fort Scott to Memphis, is assumed the name of the 
Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad. This railroad has now been 
consolidated with the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad and runs its trains 
to and from Carthage over the track of the latter road. 

In 1886 a local organization was formed at Neosho in Newton county for 
building a railroad south from that point and was chartered as the Kansas 
City, Fort Smith & Southern Railroad, which soon became known as the 
"Splitlog road, 1 ' owing to the fact that Mathias Splitlog, an Indian, one of the 
wealthiest in the United States, who resided in the Indian Territory south- 
west of Neosho, became its heaviest stockholder. Principally with Mr. Split- 
log's money this railroad was built from Neosho south into McDonald county 
to a point called Splitlog,' and between which place and Neosho this railroad 
was open ted for seme time with only one locomotive and a few cars. Mr. 
plitlog was a very interesting character. Although without education and 
necessarily lacking business qualifications, in many respects, to manage his 
fortune, and being quite childlike and trusting toward those he believed 
to be his friends, he had a great love for machinery, and was withal a capable 
and orderly farmer and something of an inventive genius. After he became 
the principal owner of this little railroad he delighted to ride on the locomotive 
and never tired studying its mechanism. In a short time Mr. Splitlog clis- 
ed of his railroad to eastern parties, who in 1889 extended it north to 
Joplin and south also. The Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf Railroad was 
some time later built from Kansas City to Pittsburg, Kansas, and under the 
promi ti< n of A. E. Stillwell was consolidated with the "Splitlog road," and 
in 1803 tne railroad was built from Pittsburg to Joplin and extended south 
fn m the terminus of the "Splitlog road," making a continuous line of rail- 
road from Kansas City to Port Arthur, Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico, pass- 
ing through Asbury, Waco, Carl Junction and Joplin, in Jasper county, and 
now known as the Kansas City Southern Railroad. 

Aside from short branches and numerous switches built into mining 
districts, this completes the history of Jasper county's railroads operated by 
steam. It now remains to notice her system of electric railroads. 

Both Joplin and Carthage prior to the days of electric roads had an 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 29 

experience with the local mule car, which made trips over some of their streets, 
but which was a very unsatisfactory service, most people who were able to 
walk or ride in any other form of conveyance shunning it. 

In 1893 tne Southwest Missouri Electric Railroad Company was organ- 
ized and an electric railroad was constructed by it running from East Joplin 
to West Joplin and south on Main street in Joplin to the different railroad 
depots, and was built from that city through the cities of Webb City and 
Carterville to Prosperity, three miles southeast of Carterville. A. H. Rogers 
was president of this company, and the other principal stockholders resided 
in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, among whom was E. Z. Wallower, who built 
and owns the Keystone Hotel building in Joplin. 

In 1895 the Jasper County Electric Railroad Company was organized 
by residents of Carthage, W. W. Calhoun becoming its president, the other 
members of its board of directors and principal stockholders being William 
McMillan, J. F. Harrison, D. R. Goucher, J. L. Moore, Robert Moore, C. F. 
McElroy, Isaac Perkins, W. E. Hall and F. H. Fitch, the latter of whom was 
superintendent of the road. This road was built from Carthage to Carterville 
to a connection with the Southwest Missouri Electric Railroad, and in 1895 
the two roads were consolidated under the control of the Southwest Missouri 
Electric Railroad Company. The electric railroad was after this extended 
from Joplin to Galena, Kansas, making a complete and highly satisfactory 
electric railroad service from Carthage to Galena, a distance of twenty-eight 
miles, passing through Carterville, Webb City and Joplin, with a branch to 
Prosperity, besides street cars being operated on some of the principal streets 
of Joplin and Carthage. 

In the early days o<f Joplin the method for reaching the county seat was 
either by private conveyance or by hack, and when by competition of the rival 
hack lines the fare between the places was reduced to twenty-five cents, it was 
regarded as a cheap fare for nearly a twenty-mile ride. When railroad con- 
nection was had over the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway, by way of 
Oronogo and Webb City, and a local train ran between Joplin and Carthage 
several times a day, the hack lines became things of the past ; and now with 
an electric car service, at low rates of fare, running each way between the four 
leading cities of the county every half hour of the day and into the night, 
and railroad trains each way every two hours and less, citizens of these cities 
find but little inconvenience from living in one place and carrying on business 
in another, as is frequently the case now. The electric road maintains parks 
at different places, the most inviting of these being "Lakeside," on Center 
•creek between Carthage and Carterville. 



30 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

THE MINES. 

Deposits of lead were known to exist in Jasper and Newton counties from 
their earliest settlement, but without railroad facilities there was not much 
profit in working mines ; neither was the extent of these deposits realized, and 
mining for many years was carried on in a very primitive way. The first 
regular mining operations were at Granby, in Newton county. In the early 
'fifties the Granby Mining and Smelting Company, organized by St. Louis 
parties, among whom were Henry T. Blow and Peter E. Blow, obtained 
control of the mining lands in that vicinity and erected smelters at Granby. 

After this mining of lead was carried on to- some extent, prior to the 
war, in Jasper county. The first mining in Jasper county, in anything like 
a regular way, was done by William Tingle. Mr. Tingle came to Jasper 
county at a very early day, being one of the first settlers of Sarcoxie. He 
emigrated from Maryland and entered first into' mercantile business, and with 
B. F. Massey laid out the town of Sarcoxie. Afterward he left Sarcoxie and 
settled on a large farm on Turkey creek, near where Joplin now stands. He 
soon commenced mining lead, and erected a lead smelter, and also established 
a store, calling his place Leadville. He converted the lead ore into pig lead, 
which he marketed in St. Louis, hauling it by wagon to Boonville, on the 
Missouri river, and to Linn creek, on the Osage, and shipping by boat, bring- 
ing back goods for his store. Mr. Tingle owned a trusty, intelligent slave 
named "Pete/' whom he brought from Maryland when he came to the south- 
west. Pete superintended freighting the pig lead from Tingle's smelter, hav- 
ing charge of several freight wagons and mule teams, bringing on his return 
trips merchandise for Mr. Tingle and other merchants living along his route. 
Mr. Tingle trusted his slave fully to make contracts and collect and handle his 
money. When the war broke out Mr. Tingle gave Pete money, a team and 
other property and sent him to Kansas, a free man. John Fitzgerald was for 
a time associated with Mr. Tingle in his mining and smelting- operations. 
Next Orchard and Shelton erected a log smelter where Joplin now is and mined 
lead. After this and about the year 1855 William T. Orchard changed his 
field of operations from the Joplin locality to what became the town of Miners- 
ville (now Oronogo), and was the first to mine at that place. 

Mining after this was carried on at a place called French Point, about 
two miles west of Minersville, by William Parkinson and Thomas R. Livings- 
ton, who were half-brothers. Both Parkinson and Livingston were killed 
during the war. They also operated a smelter and conducted a store. All of 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 31 

these parties conducted lead mining operations up to the breaking out of the 
war. Quite a trade with the Indians from the Indian Territory was main- 
rained at these mining points in the western part of Jasper county. 

With the war all these mining operations were suspended, and during the 
war and for about two years thereafter very little mining was done in the 
county. The first mining after the war was at Minersville. In 1867 the 
Granby Mining and Smelting Company obtained control of the mining land 
at Minersville, which only consisted, at that time, of eighty acres, and let 
mining lots to miners and bought the lead ore from them. The company 
maintained steam pumping plants to drain the water from the mines. The 
mining operations at that time were confined to what was called the ''circle" 
on the company's eighty-acre tract. Mining at Minersville (now Oronogo) 
has been carried on regularly and successfully ever since that time. 

The next mining- done in the county after the war was not until 1871, at 
what is now the city of Joplin, which, owing to the large deposits of mineral 
and the extent of the mining territory in that locality, immediately became 
the most prominent mining center of southwest Missouri, and has thus far 
remained such. On the discovery of the mines there a mining boom was forth- 
with inaugurated and miners and investors flocked to the locality. 

One of the tracts of land on which lead was first discovered, where Joplin 
now stands, belonged to John C. Cox, an old settler of the county, who had 
occupied this land since about 1833. Mr. Cox had followed farming and at 
the time of the lead discovery was keeping a country store in part of his 
dwelling house and also a postoffice called Blytheville. Cox owned about 
six hundred acres of land in the locality. 

Other land on which lead was discovered adjoined Mr. Cox's land on 
the south and west and belonged to Oliver S. Pitcher, of Carthage, who 
owned about seven hundred acres in a farm occupied by his tenant. This 
part of Jasper county was up to that time sparsely settled, there being no 
town in the southwestern part of the county and none of the immigration 
to Jasper county which was rapidly settling up other portions of the county 
had been attracted to this region. 

Mr. Pitcher was one of the more recent settlers from the north. He 
had come to Jasper county in 1866, from Illinois, as the agent and repre- 
sentative of William Frazier in the purchase of the large body of swamp 
lands from Ward's estate and John M. Richardson. Mr. Pitcher, being a 
lawyer, conducted the negotiations on Frazier's behalf, and after the purchase 
of the swamp lands was Mr. Frazier's resident representative until the trans- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

fer of these lands was made to Mr. Cassil. Soon after coming to Jasper 
county Mr. Pitcher concluded to buy a large tract of land on which to make 
a farm, his attention being naturally attracted to the northern part of the 
county, where other newcomers were settling and where Mr. Frazier's recent 
purchase was located. So he selected a section of land near Preston, in the 
northern part of the county, which he concluded to buy. All of this section, 
save eighty acres in one corner, belonged to Frazier's purchase. Desiring 
to acquire the full square section Mr. Pitcher sought to learn who the owner 
of the eighty acres was, and discovered that the owner thereof had left the 
state and that this eighty acres and other lands were soon to be sold under exe- 
cution for the debts of the owners. Pitcher, having purchased the judgment, 
bought not only the eighty acres which he specially desired, but all of the 
land sold at the sheriff's sale under the execution, among which was one 
hundred and sixty acres where Joplin now is. Mr. Pitcher, not until after 
his purchase, went to see the last mentioned land, and was so well pleased 
with it and the locality that he abandoned the idea of a farm near Preston 
and purchased more land in the southwestern part of the county and lo- 
cated his farm there. He acquired this land in 1867 and afterwards im- 
proved it as a farm, but his farming operations up to the time of the dis- 
covery of mineral had been rather disastrous and unremunerative. He had 
bought about two thousand head of sheep, intending to go into sheep rais- 
ing extensively, but the sheep having been driven through from Illinois, 
proved to be diseased, and before the next spring had pretty much all died. 
But in connection with Mr. Pitcher's farm matters soon took a turn for the 
better and weekly royalties on lead and "jack" (zinc) proved more satis- 
factory returns than agriculture yielded. 

Elliott R. Moffett and John B. Sergeant were partners in mining on the 
land of the Granby Mining & Smelting Company at Minersville. They had 
been associated together as mining partners in Wisconsin, before coming to 
Missouri. During the year 1870 the Granby Mining & Smelting Company, to 
stimulate mining, in addition to the prices it paid miners for lead ore mined 
on their ground, offered to the miners who should mine and turn in to it 
from any mining lot on its ground within a given time the greatest amount 
of lead ore, a reward of live hundred dollars, and Moffett & Sergeant ob- 
tained this reward under the terms of the offer. With this money as a capital 
they went to Mr. Cox and Mr. Pitcher and obtained mining leases on parts 
of their land and immediately went to work on their own account to develop 
mineral. They were so successful that it was not long until there was a great 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 33 

mining- excitement, and miners and investors were rushing to the Joplin lo- 
cality. About the same time it was learned that lead was not the only mineral 
product, but the mines yielded zinc ore along with the lead. A city sprang 
up and a mining camp such as had not before been known in this locality was 
established. From working miners Moffett & Sergeant became wealthy mine 
owners and active public-spirited business men. In addition to their mining 
ventures they soon established a bank, were interested in the town of Murphys- 
burg (later part of Joplin) and built the first railroad into Joplin from a 
connection with the Missouri River, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad, at Girard, 
Kansas. 

Among those who went to these mines with the first mining excitement 
were William P. Davis and Patrick Murphy, who up to that time had been 
merchants at Carthage. On the east side of Joplin creek John C. Cox had 
laid out the town of Joplin City and Moffett & Sergeant and Davis & Murphy 
laid out the town of Murphysburg on the west side of the creek. Davis & 
Murphy acquired land and obtained mining leases to lands in the vicinity and 
operated mines and smelters successfully and were among the most progressive 
and active men in the mines and in other enterprises. 

Hon. John H. Taylor and others, incorporated as the Joplin Mining & 
Smelting Company, purchased land from John C. Cox and mined it, their 
tract being along Joplin creek, and known as the Kansas City bottom. 

Oliver S. Picher and his sons, Judge O. H. Picher and William H. 
Picher, carried on mining on the Pitcher land, their best mines being known 
as Parr Hill. 

Judge O. H. Picher, before engaging- in mining, had been a practicing 
lawyer at Carthage, later becoming judge of the court of common pleas of 
Jasper county, which office he had resigned to enter a firm of lawyers in 
Chicago. Fie and his brother, William H. Picher, early settled in Joplin and 
became identified with the mining and business interests of that city. Among 
their other interests they are now connected with the Picher White Lead 
Works, Judge Picher being now president of the Picher White Lead Works. 

Hon. John H. Taylor first had his attention called to this county from 
reading the report of his geological survey of this state, made in 1854. by Pro- 
fessor G. C. Swallow, state geologist, in which he predicted that in future 
years parts of Jasper and Newton counties would develop some of the richest 
mines in the world. So, when Mr. Taylor learned of the big strikes of lead 
and zinc at Joplin, he went there from his home at Independence, Missouri. 



34 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

No zinc ore was mined and sold until about the time Joplin was founded. 
Prior to that lead alone was mined. 

In 1875, near where Webb City and Carterville now are, was the next 
discovery of extensive deposits of lead and zinc. This was on the farm of 
John C. Webb, and was soon extended to land of J. G. L. Carter and up 
along the little creek which flows between Webb City and Carterville. 

The Center Creek Mining & Smelting Company, of which J. C. Stewart 
is president, obtained a mining lease on most of the Webb land and after 
mining the land for a number of years purchased the title to the land from Mr. 
Webb's heirs. 

William A. Daugherty had become owner of the Carter land and asso- 
ciated with Thomas N. Davey, William McMillan and Charles C. Allen, who 
bought interests in the land. Messrs. Daugherty and Davey mined the lands 
and afterwards incorporated the Carterville Mining & Smelting Company. 
Mining operations soon sperad to nearby lands, embracing what became' known 
as "Sucker Flat." Tracey land, Ealer land, Eleventh-Hour, Troup and "Get 
There." Among the mines of the county those embraced in what is known 
as the Carterville district stand next to the Joplin district in point of pro- 
duction. 

The mining industry of Jasper county has ever been extending and grow- 
ing, with every indication that it will continue to develop. The territory 
where mineral is found has greatly enlarged to embrace other portions of 
the county. While the production has gradually increased, prices of ore have 
likewise increased. Of course, on account of the greater depth at which min- 
ing is prosecuted, the cost of producing the ore has increased. The first 
zinc mined in the county only sold for about six dollars a ton. Expensive 
machinery in the way of pumps, reduction mills, air drills, etc., are now found 
to be a necessity to the operation of mines, calling for the investment of 
much more capital than formerly. In the years 1898 and 1899, when the 
price of zinc ore ranged from thirty to fifty dollars per ton and lead brought 
about fifty dollars a ton, a great impetus to the mining industry was given 
and much money was brought into this district from the east for investment 
in the mines, and the field for mining and mining investments has been con- 
siderably extended. The old mining localities of Joplin, Carterville, Webb 
City and Oronogo still lead in production, but new mining camps have been 
started, covering not only additional territory in the vicinity of the old fields, 
but operations have extended to Neck City and Alba in the northwestern part 
of the county, to Carthage and vicinity in the central part and to Reeds and 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 3 5 

Sarcoxie in the southeastern part, so that the only locality of the county not 
now boasting the location of some good mines is the northern and north- 
eastern part of Jasper county. 

The value of the annual production of lead and zinc in the county for- 
th e past few years has amounted to about five million dollars. 

The stone quarrying industry may be properly noticed here. Jasper 
county has extensive deposits of fine limestone lying adjacent to Spring river 
and Center creek in the bluffs and hillsides. This stone is capable of stand- 
ing a heavy pressure, is of fine grain, takes a beautiful polish and is easily 
worked into monuments or ornamental work, aside from use as a superior 
building and paving stone. Lime from these deposits of stone was first 
burned for shipment, taken from the bluff of Spring river, immediately west 
of the 'Frisco depot at Carthage. 

Afterwards, in the year 1880, J. F. Garner, of Carthage, opened the first 
quarry, putting in machinery to quarry and saw the stone, on the Kendrick 
farm, north of Spring river, adjoining Carthrage, on the line of the Missouri 
Pacific Railroad. 

Now there are six of these quarries adjoining Carthage on the north 
where stone is quarried and sawed, operated extensively, and two other quar- 
ries along Center creek, between Carthage and Webb City, and extensive lime 
works at Sarcoxie, from which point much lime is shipped. About forty cars" 
of stone per week are regularly shipped from- Carthage. 

COURTS, COURT HOUSES, SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, ETC. 

Jasper county's first court house was built in 1842. It was a frame 
building, one story high, located about midway of the north side of the public 
square in Carthage. The next building was a much more pretentious brick 
building, erected in the center of the public square, two stories high. The 
order for its erection was made by the county court in July, 1849, tne cost not 
to exceed four thousand dollars. The contractor failing to comply with his 
contract, its completion was delayed, and it was not accepted or occupied by the 
county until May, 1854. This house was destroyed during the war, in Octo- 
ber, 1863, and its ruins occupied the square until in 1866. 

In the spring of 1866 the county court caused the old county jail build- 
ing at Carthage, the foundation and walls of which were partly standing, 
to be rebuilt, and this building was used a year or more for clerk's and re- 
corder's offices and a court room as well. After that, until the present jail 



36 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

was built in 1872, this building was used as a jail and had an iron cage set up 
inside of it. This court house and jail was a small, one-story building, con- 
sisting of only one room, located nearly where the opera house at Carthage 
stands, east of the public square. 

In 1867 the county purchased lot 17 on the west side of the public square 
at Carthage and erected a frame building thereon two stories high, using the 
lower story for court room and two rooms up stairs for clerk's office and 
probate judge's and sheriff's office. 

In 1 87 1 the county purchased lots and a frame church building from 
the Baptist Church Society, at the corner of Fourth and Clinton streets, 
Carthage, which up to that time had been used by the Baptist church and 
which was thereafter used for a court house, and after that, on the lots adjoin- 
ing on the east, the present jail building was erected. The courts were 
held in this old church building until it was burned down in 1887. 

Some of the county offices occupied part of the new jail building and office 
room for the others was rented. After the burning of the old Baptist church 
building the county was compelled to rent rooms for courts and offices, both 
in Carthage and Joplin, until the building of the present court houses at 
Carthage and Joplin. 

As an appropriation for building public buildings or issuing of bonds 
therefor, under the constitution of this state, can only be made upon a favor- 
able vote of two-thirds of the voters of the county, the building of court houses 
was delayed. With so many rival towns and cities a favorable vote was quite 
hard to obtain. The agitation for building court houses first took definite 
shape by the submission of a proposition for a court house at Carthage, alone. 
As might have been expected this proposition was defeated, hardly receiving 
a majority vote, let alone the necessary two-thirds. It encountered a great 
deal of opposition in the other cities of the county. 

Afterwards a special election was ordered to be held on July 14, 1891, to 
vote on a proposition for erecting two court houses, one to cost one hundred 
thousand dollars, at Carthage, to be located in the center of the public square, 
and the other to cost twenty thousand dollars, at Joplin, to be located on a 
lot to be donated by the citizens. Fifty thousand dollars of the required one 
hundred thousand dollars for the building at Carthage was to be paid by the 
•city of Carthage, in consideration of which said city was to own and use four 
rooms in the building; and the county was to pay the remaining sev- 
enty thousand dollars for the two buildings, and which was to be paid by the 
direct levy of taxes for three years, without issuing any bonds. This election 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 37 

resulted favorably to the proposition by the required two-thirds vote; but the 
citizens of Webb City contested the validity of the election proceedings in 
the courts, and the supreme court of the state, on appeal, held the election 
void on the ground that it had not been conducted under the Australian ballot 
system, then recently adopted in this state. 

Following this adverse decision substantially the same proposition was 
submitted over again to the voters, and at an election held on the 9th day of 
May, 1893, the proposition was again carried by an increased majority and 
under which the two court houses at Carthage and Joplin, one costing one 
hundred thousand dollars and the other twenty thousand dollars, were erected 
without the county incurring any indebtedness therefor, being paid for by three 
successive tax levies in the years 1893, ^94 and 1895, as contemplated in the 
order of the countv court calling the election. The buildings erected under the 
orders and supervision of the county court reflect great credit on that body, 
and those who carried out the contracts for constructing the buildings. 

The building at Carthage, costing one hundred thousand dollars, is an 
elegant three-story building with four fronts, to every street around the public 
square, the walls being of the Carthage stone. The building at Joplin is a good 
building for the money it cost, being a two-story brick building, with offices 
and court room, and some cells for holding prisoners. James A. Daugherty, of 
Webb City, was the presiding judge, and L. A. Fillmore, of Joplin, and Robert 
G. McMeechan, of Madison township, were the two associate judges of the 
county court, under whose faithful and diligent administration the buildings 
were commenced and almost brought to completion. The building at Carthage 
was completed and occupied during the summer of 1895, and the building at 
Joplin had been finished the fall before. 

Prior to the organization of Jasper county, while this region was suc- 
cessivelv part of Greene, Barry and Newton counties, Charles H. Allen (fa- 
miliarly called "Horse Allen"), a resident of Springfield, was judge of the 
circuit court. After this county was organized the first circuit court convened 
at the house of George Hornback, on February 25, 1841, with Charles S. 
Yancey as judge; James McBride as circuit attorney; Ellwood B. James, 
clerk, and John P. Osborn, sheriff. Robert W. Crawford and John C. Price 
were the only other lawyers mentioned as in attendance. Judge Yancey con- 
tinued to serve as circuit judge until his death in 1857, and by appointment 
William C. Price was judge part of that year. Both Yancey and Price were 
residents of Springfield. Judge William C. Price, during the closing days 



38 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

of President Buchanan's administration, was the treasurer of the United 
States. He still resides at Springfield, at a very advanced age. 

The circuit, then the thirteenth judicial circuit, was made up of Barry, 
Dade, Lawrence, Greene, Taney, Stone, Newton, McDonald, Jasper and 
Barton counties. In the beginning of the year 1858 Greene county was trans- 
ferred from the thirteenth circuit to the fourteenth circuit. Thereupon John 
R. Chenault, of Carthage, became judge of this circuit and was serving as 
such when the war put an end to the dispensing of justice hereabouts for four 
years, and Judge Chenault, soon after the breaking out of the war, took up his 
residence in Texas and never returned to Missouri. There were no courts 
held in this county between May 11, 1861, and October 10, 1865, during all 
which time no county government or civil authority was in an organized state. 
In 1864 John C. Price, of Mt. Vernon, was appointed by the governor 
circuit judge for this circuit and held his first court for Jasper county in Oc- 
tober, 1865, holding the fall term, 1865, and the spring term, 1866, at the 
brick school house near Cave Spring. In June, 1866, an adjourned spring 
term of the court convened in Carthage, since which time courts have been 
regularly held at the county seat. 

The terms of court in the early days usually lasted from a few days to 
two weeks. Circuit court was the greatest event of those clays. The larger 
part of the population, men, women and children, turned out twice a year to 
court ; and the grown persons took great interest in the cases tried and the 
"pleadings" of the lawyers. Along with the few local attorneys, lawyers from 
other counties were in attendance — Springfield furnishing largely the talent 
and greater number. The court was also a place for the gathering of pol- 
iticians and candidates for office. Political speeches were a great feature of 
every court, whether an election campaign was pending at the time or not. 
Horse racing and other sports were frequently indulged. The first term of 
court which the writer attended in southwest Missouri was the spring term, 
1866, at Cave Spring, where he met for the first time the then circuit judge, 
John C. Price, Governor John S. Phelps, Judge Thomas A. Sherwood, Judge 
Charles B. McAfee, Colonel John M. Richardson, Henry C. Young, Nathan 
Bray, Judge B. L. Hendrick and others. 

Judge John C. Price served as judge until the beginning of the year 
1869. B. L. Hendrick, of Mt. Vernon, having been elected in 1868, served 
nearly six years, until his death in the fall of 1874. Joseph Cravens, of Ne- 
osho, was elected in 1874 as Hendrick's successor, and Judge Hendrick dying 
a short time before his time expired, Judge Cravens was appointed to fill out 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 39 

a month or more of Hendrick's unexpired term. The circuit at this time 
comprised Jasper, Lawrence, Newton and McDonald counties, and in 1877 
four terms of court were provided for Jasper county, two to be held at 
Carthage and two at Joplin, in each year, as is the present arrangement. 

In 1880 M. G. McGregor was elected circuit judge and was re-elected in 
1886. In. 1887 the circuit was reduced to Jasper and Lawrence counties. 

In 1892 Waltom M. Robinson, of Webb City, was elected circuit judge 
and by the next legislature Jasper county was constituted a separate judicial 
circuit. At the election in 1894* Judge Robinson was promoted to the supreme 
bench, which position of supreme court judge he now holds. This necessi- 
tating his resignation as circuit judge, Edward C. Crow, of Webb City, was 
appointed his successor, as judge of the circuit court. At the election follow- 
ing in the fall of 1896, the present judge, Joseph D. Perkins, of Carthage, was 
elected to serve the remaining two years of Judge Robinson's unexpired term 
and in 1898 Judge Perkins was re-elected for a full term of six years. 

In the winter of 1901 the office of additional circuit judge was created 
for Jasper county, and under the law creating such office the governor ap- 
pointed Hugh Dabbs, of Joplin, judge. 

Some idea of the growth of business in the courts, as well as along other 
lines, may be formed from the position of Jasper county thirty years ago, as 
one of six counties forming a judicial circuit, and now the county has two 
separate circuit courts in session almost constantly. 

Prior to the adoption of the present constitution of Missouri, in the 
year 1875, there was organized for Jasper county a number of courts under 
special laws. Up to 1866 the county court had probate jurisdiction. In that 
year the probate court was organized and William J. Cameron, a lawyer at 
Carthage, was elected the judge of the court, but the court was two years 
after abolished and the county court again transacted probate business until 
the establishment of the Jasper county court of common pleas. 

In 1874 a court of common pleas was established, with jurisdiction limited 
to Joplin and Galena townships, to be held in the city of Joplin. Galen 
Spencer, of Joplin, was elected judge of the court and served until 1875, 
when the court was abolished. 

In 1869 the Jasper county court of common pleas was established and 
Oliver H. Picher, of Carthage, was appointed judge of the court and was 
afterwards, at the election in 1870, elected to that position. Judge Picher 
resigning the office in 1870, Edmund O. Brown, of Carthage, was appointed 
his successor and was afterwards elected to the office. At th£ expiration of 



4 o BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Judge Brown's term of office, by provision of the new constitution, these 
local courts were abolished. 

In addition to Judge Chenault the other resident attorneys of Jasper 
county before the war were William M. Cravens, who was serving as circuit 
attorney when the war broke out, and was one of the sons of Jeremiah Cravens, 
one of the first judges of the county court of the county; Ben E: Johnson, 
Archibald McCoy and George T. Vaughn. 

Archibald McCoy was killed during the war, and none of the others, after 
being driven out by the war, ever returned to permanently reside in the county. 

James Allison was the first lawyer to settle in Jasper county after the 
war, coming in October, 1865, from Illinois. He left here and returned 
to Illinois about the beginning of 1868. William J. Cameron came about 
the beginning of 1866. He also left the county over twenty years ago. The 
writer came to the county in March, 1866, and within a little over a year of 
that time came Robert A. Cameron, L. P. Cunningham, G. W. Crow (father 
of the present attorney-general of Missouri), William H. Phelps, E. R. 
Wheeler and A. L. Thomas. Galen Spencer located at Joplin as an attorney 
soon after the founding of that city. The bar of Jasper county is now com- 
posed of nearly one hundred and fifty members, located in the various cities of 
the county. 

By an act of congress to go into effect July 1, 1901, two terms of the 
United States circuit court and the United States district court are to be held 
in the city of Joplin each year, and a government building to cost one hundred 
thousand dollars is to be erected in that city, at the cornor of Third and Joplin 
streets, the city to furnish the site for the building. 

The schools of the county are a source of pride for its inhabitants. A 
great interest has always been taken to afford adequate school facilities for 
children and young people. The schools have gradually developed as popu- 
lation has increased, and there has been a gradual evolution from the rude 
log school house to the well appointed brick graded school and college. 

Prior to the war there was maintained at Carthage an academy, located 
on the present site of the central and high school buildings — being a very 
creditable two-story brick building. This academy, at the breaking out of the 
war,' was conducted by John J. Williams. At Sarcoxie and other places in the 
country schools were held. I have before noted the fact that at Cave Springs, 
in the eastern part of the county, was a brick school house of two rooms. As 
early as 1841 Robert J. Dale, still living in Carthage, taught the first school es- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 41 

tablished in the southwestern part of the county, in a log school house erected 
by his father on Turkey creek, with twelve scholars. 

From the sales of swamp lands and other school lands in the county has 
been accumulated permanent county and township school funds, amounting 
to about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, the interest on which is dis- 
tributed to the schools each year, besides the school funds distributed by the 
state and received by direct taxation on the property of the districts. 

Including the various city school districts there are at present one hun- 
dred and twenty-three school districts in the county, employing over three 
hundred and sixty teachers — five of whom are colored. Over one hundred 
and fifty school buildings are maintained. About thirty thousand dollars 
was expended on new buildings during the year 1900, and the value of school 
property in the county is about six hundred thousand dollars. The enroll- 
ment in the schools at present is in excess of twenty thousand. In addition to 
the public schools of the county two colleges are maintained, which are briefly 
noticed further along. 

In the early days the pioneer preachers exerted a great influence for the 
religious and moral upbuilding of the community. Religious meetings were 
held and religious societies were formed throughout the county. The leading 
denominations prior to the war were the Baptists, Methodists and Christians. 
There were no church buildings, either in Sarcoxie or Carthage, until after the 
war, although plans were maturing for such before the war. A Baptist church 
building, known as the "Peace Church," was early erected in the southwestern 
part of the county, on Turkey creek; a log Baptist church called ''Freedom" 
was located on Jones creek, in the southern part of the county, and another 
one known as "Enon" was located on White Oak creek, southeast of A villa. 
A Christian church was located at Fidelity, seven miles south of Carthage. 

After the war great interest was manifested in spreading religious influ- 
ences, preaching the gospel and building churches. The two branches of the 
Methodist church — the Methodist Episcopal and the Methodist Episcopal 
church (south) — the Presbyterians, Baptists, Christians and Congregational- 
ists were early on the ground and organized for work, and it was not long 
until all the leading denominations were represented. Early in the year 1866 
the conference of the Methodist Episcopal church sent out Rev. John C. 
Willoughby as a circuit preacher, who had the whole of Jasper county for his 
circuit, with Rev. Leroy M. Vernon as presiding elder of the district. Mr. 
Willoughby soon located his family in Carthage, and was probably the first 
to reorganize people into church societies. He preached at different points 



42 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

in the comity, from Sarcoxie, in the southeast, to Medoc, in the northwest. 
As a result of these early efforts, continued to the present, the Methodist 
Episcopal church now maintains about thirty-eight separate preaching places 
in Jasper county. The Baptists soon organized churches throughout the 
county, Rev. Caleb Blood being one of the leading ministers to come into the 
county at an early day after the war. 

Aside from the many large and commodious churches now maintained in 
all the cities and towns of the county many churches are scattered throughout 
the rural communities, exerting' a salutary influence for good. 

The Jasper County Sunday-school Association was organized as early 
as 1868 and has been maintained ever since, being auxiliary to the State and 
National Associations, and has held its annual conventions ever since and has 
done efficient work in the organization of Sunday-schools in all the town- 
ships of the county. These Sunday-schools 1 thus planted have in many 
instances resulted in the forming of church organizations and the building 
of church buildings. At present Jasper county ranks first as the best or- 
ganized county in the state in the Sunday-school work, and has twice been 
awarded the first premium banner from the State Association. 

The Young Men's Christian Association maintains its organization in 
the cities of Joplin, Carthage and Webb City. The association at Joplin has 
just completed a fine building at the corner of Virginia avenue and Fourth 
street ; the value of its building and ground being fifty thousand dollars. 
The association at Webb City has also secured a location and is preparing to 
build. 

TOWNSHIPS, CITIES AND TOWNS. 

Tasper county has had fifteen townships since 1873, at which time the 
municipal townships were reorganized and formed as they at present exist. 
Prior to that time they were fewer in number, embracing more territory. 
Naming the townships in order from east to west the northern five townships 
are Lincoln, Sheridan, Preston, Duvall and Jasper ; the middle tier are Mc- 
Donald, Madison, Marion, Mineral and Twin Grove, and the southern five 
are Sarcoxie, Union, Jackson, Joplin and Galena. Until recent years the 
county for the most part was composed of a rural population, farming, stock- 
raising and fruit-growing being the principal occupations, but now more than 
two-thirds of the population is located in the cities. The population of the 
various townships, including the cities within their boundaries, in 1900 was 
as follows : 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 43 

Lincoln 721 Twin Groves 2 628 

Sheridan 890 Sarcoxie 3'.335 

Preston 1,597 Union ' 1377 

Duvale 1,092 Jackson ' 1678 

J as P e r 1,175 Joplin 18'499 

McDonald 1,203 Galena 32*937 

Madison 1,184 

Marion '. u|()56 

Mineral 4 (J4(j 



84,018 



Space will not allow of anything like an extended history of the cities and 
towns of the county. Of course the first in importance and population is the 

CITY OF JOPLIN, 

The metropolis of southwestern Missouri. From the earliest settlement of 
this part of the state until recently Springfield has enjoyed the distinction of 
being the leading and most populous city, until by recent census Joplin is shown 
to be now the most populous, and no doubt as the center of this great zinc and 
lead mining district she has also become the most noted. 

The little creek that flows through Joplin into Turkey creek had long 
been known as Joplin creek before any town was located near it, being so 
called after a pioneer Methodist preacher of the early days of that name. 
Rev. Harris G. Joplin came to Jasper county from Greene county as early 
as the year 1839. He was the first settler on what was known afterwards as 
Joplin creek. He settled on a piece of land at what is now the city of Joplin, 
building a log house, in which he lived near a spring at the head of the creek. 
Soon afterwards his brother-in-law, Fullbright, of Springfield, settled east of 
Joplin s, on land afterwards owned by Robert J. Dale. Of course at that 
early day none of this land was subject to entry or purchase from the gov- 
ernment and these settlers had a mere squatter's right. Rev. Mr. Joplin 
improved a little farm and remained only about three years, at the end of 
which time he returned to Greene county, selling out his claim to one Josiah 
F. Pinson. Considerable lead had been mined in that locality before the war. 
and in 1870, when MofTett & Sergeant came there and began mining opera- 
tions, soon discovering large deposits of both lead and zinc, two towns, one 
on either side of Joplin creek, sprang into existence, and from being a quiet, 
sparsely settled farming district the activity and disorder incident to a newly 
discovered mining camp were soon manifested. 

Elliott R. Moffett, John B. Sergeant, William P. Davis and Patrick Mur- 
phy, on the 1 2th day of July, 1871, laid off and platted the town of Murphys- 



44 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

burg on the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 3 in 
township 27, of range 33, which land they had purchased from Oliver 
S. Picher. This was on the west side of Joplin creek. On the 28th day 
of the same month John C. Cox, on the east side of the creek, laid 
off and platted the town of "Joplin City,'' on the east half of lot 1 of the 
northwest fractional quarter of section 2 in township 27 of range 33. Both 
towns were not long in spreading beyond these original boundaries, Murphys- 
burg, almost from the first, becoming the principal town. They were 
each incorporated on the same day, January 20, 1872, as separate 
municipalities by the county court, enjoying each a town government and fof 
a time maintained separate postoffices as well. The name of the postoffice al- 
ready established at Blytheville was changed to Joplin City and a new post- 
office was established at Murphysburg. At first there was a good deal of 
rivalry between the towns. The Joplin Mining & Smelting Company, of which 
John H. Taylor was president, controlled the mining land known as the 
"Kansas City bottom," from which a great deal of mineral was taken and 
furnished employment to a great many miners. Mr. Taylor and this com- 
pany took a great interest in the growth of Joplin City, laying out several 
additions to the town on land bought from Mr. Cox. The company, in addition 
to erecting a hotel and a number of business houses, started the Joplin Savings 
Bank, which was the first bank in either town. A fire in the business part 
of Joplin City contributed to give Murphysburg the ascendancy as the busi- 
ness center and an agitation soon followed in favor of uniting the two towns 
under one municipal government. 

On the 15th of March, 1873, the county court made an order incorporat- 
ing the two towns under one town government, known as "Union City,'' but 
there was much opposition to this movement and the controversy was settled 
by the legislature, by a special act, approved March 24, 1873, incorporating 
b( >th towns as the city of Joplin. 

The city of Joplin some years afterwards incorporated under the general 
laws of the state as a city of the third class and has remained such ever since. 
With productive mines within its borders and surrounding it in every direc- 
tion, combined with the enterprise of its citizens, railroads have been built, 
business and manufacturing have developed and the growth of Joplin has 
been rapid. By the census of 1880 its population had increased to 7,038, in 
1890 to 9,943 and by 1900 to 26, 023. From a rough mining camp it has 
grown in less than thirty years to be not only the center and leading city of 
this mining territory, but also a thriving business and manufacturing center 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 



45 



and a distributing point for a large wholesale trade. Much of the mining 
machinery used in the mines all over the district is manufactured here. The 
city has quite a number of large machine shops engaged mainly in the manu- 
facture of mining pumps, holsters, crushers and reduction mills. 

The city has four leading lines of railroad entering the city, the Missouri 
Pacific, St. Louis & San Francisco, the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis 
and the Kansas City Southern, together with branch lines of these roads. 
She also has good street car service through the city by the Southwest Mis- 
souri Electric Railroad, which also connects her with Galena, Kansas, on the 
west and Webb City, Carterville and Carthage on the east. Another electric 
line has been chartered and granted a franchise over many streets by the city. 

Perhaps the greatest manufacturing enterprise in the city is the Picher 
White Lead Works. These works were erected in 1879 by George T. Lewis 
and E. O. Bartlett, of Philadelphia. Mr. Bartlett was the inventor of a 
patent process for manufacturing white lead from the fumes that had formerly 
gone to waste in smelting lead ore into pig lead, and he, in connection with 
Mr. Lewis, erected the works under a contract with the Lone Elm Mining & 
Smelting Company, through which the works passed into the ownership, after 
their completion and successful operation, of the latter company. After two 
years the first works burned down and were rebuilt. 

In 1887 the Picher White Lead Company purchased these works, with 
which Judge O. H. Picher, William H. Picher and E. O. Bartlett, the orig- 
inal patentee of the process, and others are connected. This company is 
capitalized for $100,000.00, but the actual capital employed in the company's 
business and represented by the property owned by it exceeds many times that 
sum, the works alone having cost in the neighborhood of $300,000.00. These 
works now cover ten acres of land and employ one hundred and fifty men. 
They annually manufacture four thousand tons of white lead and smelt about 
eight hundred tons of pig lead. 

Joplin's water supply comes from Shoal creek, three .miles from the city, 
and she has both gas and electric lighting and a thorough sewerage system. 
Her hotels and business houses are equal to those of many larger cities, the 
Keystone hotel being six stories in height. There are many elegant residences. 
The schools and school buildings are among the finest in the state. She has 
some thirteen public school buildings, which have been erected at a cost of over 
one hundred thousand dollars, the high school building being a costly, elegant 
building. The teachers employed in the schools number over eighty. 



46 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

THE CITY OF CARTHAGE. 

The location of the county seat of Jasper county was made by the com- 
missioners appointed by the legislature in the act creating the county in the 
beginning of the year 1842. Lot 1 of the northwest fractional quarter and the 
west half of the southwest quarter of section 3, and lot 1 of the northwest frac- 
tional quarter and east half of the southwest quarter of section 4 in township 
28, of range 31, comprising three hundred" and twenty acres of land, was 
selected before the government survey of the land, so that it was not until 
December 23, 1846, that the land was entered at the government land office 
by George Hornback, as the agent of Jasper county, and who, by a quit 
claim deed, conveyed the land to the county. Before this time the town had 
grown to a considerable size. 

After the report of the commissioners, as to their selection, the county 
court, by an order of record of March 29, 1842, named the new county seat 
Carthage. The first plat of the town, dedicating the public square 
and seven streets surrounding and near the square for public purposes 
and locating ninety lots, was filed in the recorder's office June 30, 
1842, and by the orders of the county court these lots and others, as they were 
laid off from time to time, were sold by commissioners of the seat of justice. 

What are now the public high school grounds, including also what are 
now the lots on Main street fronting these grounds, were on July 28, 1858, 
conveyed by Jasper county by J. O. A. Walton, commissioner of the seat of 
justice of Jasper county, to the board of trustees of the Carthage Female Acad- 
emy, which institution had been incorporated by a special act of the Legislature 
of the state, and on these grounds was erected a substantial two-story brick; 
academy building, and school was conducted in this by John J. Williams, to 
which both sexes were admitted, until forced to suspend by the war. There 
was no public school in Carthage during this time. With the destruction of 
Carthage this academy building was destroyed, and after the close of the war 
these grounds stood unoccupied until in 1871. All the original members of 
the board of trustees of the Carthage Female Academy having died or re- 
moved from Carthage, save Norris C. Hood, a new board of trustees was or- 
ganized, of which Mr. Hood remained a member, and the new board, on the 
31st day of May, 1871, conveyed these academy grounds to the board of edu- 
cation of the town of Carthage for a consideration sufficient to pay the indebt- 
edness resting on the Female Academy growing out of the erection of the acad- 
emy building. The part of the grounds lying on the west side of Main street 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 47 

was sold by the board of education for residence lots, and the remainder of 
these grounds, lying between Main street and Grant" street, has ever since been 
held as public school grounds, what is now known as the Central School build- 
ing having, soon after the acquisition of this property by the school district, 
been erected thereon at a cost of thirty thousand dollars, and in the year 1889 
the High School building was erected on the same grounds, costing twenty 
thousand dollars. When the ruins of the old academy building were cleared 
away preparatory to building the Central building, the bell that had been on the 
Academy was found uninjured and was placed on the Central building and 
has been ringing ever since for the public schools of Carthage. 

The land immediately west of these Academy grounds, consisting of 
about seven acres, had been, on August 30, 1848, set apart and dedicated by 
the County Court as a burying ground, and had been used as such until Maj 
7, 1869. when the town had so built around it that it had become desirable that 
this public cemetery should be removed; so, by order of the County Court, 
this ground was transferred to the town of Carthage for a public park, sub- 
ject to the right of the public for burying purposes, which right was to cease 
when other and suitable grounds should be obtained for that purpose, by the 
town. The town obtained such grounds and bore the expense of removing 
nearly all the graves thereto and has enjoyed, improved and beautified this 
old burying ground which is now known as Central Park. 

The town of Carthage immediately before the war contained a population 
of about five hundred people located around and within two or three blocks of 
the public square in each direction. Shirley's Tavern was on the north side of 
the square; Norris C. Hood lived on the west side of the square and there were 
two or three stores on that side. William M. Chenault lived on the block corn- 
ering with the southeast corner of the square, and Jesse L. Cravens had a store 
there. James and John B. Dale had a store on the east side of the square. Judge 
John R. Chenault lived on the eighty acres of land immediately south of what 
is now the High School grounds and Central Park, the land being now in 
Lamb's addition to the city. He had his residence where Neill Piatt has com- 
pleted his elegant new house on Grand avenue, and his orchard was to the west 
and north of the house. The first place where the writer boarded after coming 
to Carthage in March, 1866, was at the log house, the former slave quarters 
of Judge Chenault, nothing but the foundation of his residence then remaining. 
Titus B. Housted lived on a farm north of town, including the bottom land 
south of Spring river. The Heusted family residence is still standing on the 
hill a little to the south of the Carthage Woolen Mills. Ellwood B. James had 



48 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

a residence and orchard some distance east of the square, and his brother, Han- 
nibal James, lived still east of that, where is now Dr. John A. Carter's farm 
and residence. North and west of the town, reaching from what is now Cen- 
tral avenue north and from Garrison avenue west, was timbered with a thick 
growth of trees, mostly black jack oaks. There was no road leading directly 
i;orth from the square, but the road to the north crosed the river where is now 
the lower bridge. 

Carthage was depopulated by the war, and all its buildings, except about 
six of the more inferior ones, were destroyed. Very few of the former resi- 
dents returned to live there after the war. Norris C. Hood, Mrs. McCoy, the 
widow of A. McCoy, M. M. James, Mrs. Elizabeth A. James, widow of Ell- 
wood B. James, William G. Bulgin and Amanda Glass, widow of Thomas R. 
Glass, with their families, returned and again resumed their residence in 
Carthage. Dr. A. H. Caffee, who had been a physician in the county before 
the war, and served as surgeon in the federal army during the war, settled in 
•Carthage and in co-partnership with Captain J. W. Young started the drug 
business still continued by him. 

George Rader, who was the first postmaster of Carthage after the war, 
was the first person to take up his abode there after the close of the war. He 
came in August, 1865, before any of the former residents had returned. He 
brought with him in a wagon from Fort Scott, Kansas, a small stock of goods, 
which he opened in an old building he found unoccupied. He continued as 
postmaster until March, 1879, nearly thirteen years, having been appointed 
May 18, 1866. He served for a time as county treasurer also, and was, after 
his term as postmaster expired, mayor of Carthage. 

Dr. John A. Carter came soon after Mr. Rader and took up the practice 
of medicine, which he has unceasingly and with great success continued to 
this time. Thomas E. Gray, still an honored citizen of Carthage, came in the 
fall of 1865, and successfully conducted a mercantile business for a number 
of years. Griffith M. Robinson, Esq., who still resides a few miles west of 
the city, took up his residence in Carthage, and served some years as justice 
of the peace. 

The first newspaper established in Carthage was printed in 1857 by 
James Kelly and was called the "Carthage Pioneer ;" afterward the paper 
passed into the hands of Christopher C. Dawson and its name was changed 
to the "Southwest Star.'' After the battle of Carthage it is understood Daw- 
son took his printing outfit and accompanied Governor Jackson to McDonald 
county, where he printed state script. In December, 1866, Thomas M. Gar- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 49 

land established the Carthage Weekly Banner, which was the next paper 
printed in the county, being Republican in politics. The Carthage Patriot, 
a Democratic paper, was started in 1870 by Albert W. Carpenter. 

A district school was taught in Carthage in 1867 by Andrew J. Shepard, 
who had been a teacher in the county before the war and was deputy circuit 
clerk for William G. Bulgin, who was the first circuit clerk after the war. 
Mr. Shepard was assisted in the school by his sister Clementina, who> became 
afterward Mrs. George D. Orner. The court room in the frame building 
erected on the west side of the square was occupied by this school when 
courts were not in session. 

The first municipal government for Carthage was formed March 12, 
1868, when the town was incorporated by the county court and a board of 
trustees for its government was appointed, and a town school district was 
also organized with the legal title of the Board of Education of the town 
of Carthage. Graded town schools were then organized, with William J. 
Seiber as superintendent, who had some three or four teachers under him. 
These schools were taught in a double building" on the south side of the 
square, belonging to G. A. Cassil, until the central brick school building 
was erected. 

The city of Carthage was incorporated by a special act of the legislature 
in 1873, and Peter Hill was elected its first mayor. Afterward, March 6, 
1890. this special charter was surrendered and the city organized as a city 
of the third class, under the general law. 

There was no church building erected in Carthage prior to 1868, when 
the Methodist Episcopal church erected the brick building still standing at 
the corner of Fourth and Howard streets. The Presbyterians soon after 
erected their frame church building, which is still occupied by them on Grant 
street, and the Baptists erected a frame church on East Fourth street, near 
where the jail now is, which they afterward sold to< the county for a court 
house. Before this these denominations, as well as the Christians, had held 
services first in the court room and afterward rented rooms for their meetings. 

The modern city of Carthage lays claim to being the prettiest city in 
the state. The location is all that could be desired, high above and on the 
south bank of Spring river, with excellent natural drainage — the character 
of the soil being such that with slight work and attention the streets are 
never muddy. Besides its location the beauty of the city consists in its fine 
streets and walks, its uniformly neat and commodious homes and the well 
kept lawns and shade trees surrounding them, and its parks and drives. 



5 o BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Central Park, located centrally in the city, having formerly been the town 
cemetery, contains about seven acres, and still retains many of the original 
forest trees, and is laid out into walks, grass plats, flower beds, and has a 
large fountain and basin in its center, in which sport numerous gold fish. 

Carter's Park, near the east end of Chestnut avenue, is the property of 
the city, being a gift from Dr. John A. Carter. This park was originally 
part of the farm owned by Dr. Carter, on which he now resides, his resi- 
dence and farm being just beyond the city and park and adjoin them on 
the east. The park consists of about eight acres of ground, and adjoining it 
is a large spring flowing from underneath a high bluff of limestone rock, and 
the creek, of which the spring is the source, flows through the park. The 
city's electric lighting plant is located in the edge of the park. The gift to 
the city was a valuable one and will ever remain as a lasting reminder of 
the generosity of its donor. 

Adjoining the city limits and along the bluffs lining the north bank of 
Spring river are five stone quarries, where stone out of these bluffs is sawed 
by machinery and in some cases worked ready for the structures for which 
it is intended. These quarries employ about one hundred and twenty men, 
and shipments of the stone, to say nothing of the home demand, now amount 
to forty cars per week. 

The city has a large woolen mill, employing about one hundred and 
twenty operatives, two large flouring mills, with a third mill a mile east of the 
city, their united capacity being about eight hundred barrels of flour per day, 
besides machine shops, furniture factory, bed spring factory and other like 
establishments. 

The public schools of Carthage have always ranked high. Including 
her new high-school building, she has eight public school buildings, in which 
forty-eight teachers are employed. 

In 1883 was organized the Carthage Collegiate Institute, which has 
building and grounds valued at twenty-five thousand dollars. This is a Pres- 
byterian college, of which William S. Knight, D. D., is now president, and 
under whose leadership, while pastor of the First Presbyterian church of 
Carthage, the institution was founded. 

Carthage is blessed with many churches, some seventeen in number, in 
which about all leading denominations are represented. 

The city, being the county seat, is centrally located in Marion township, 
and in 1900 contained a population of 9,416. 

Dr. Robert F. Brooks, who for about thirty years prior to his death 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 51 

was a leading physician and surgeon of Carthage, by his will has left to the 
city his library of medical books and has also directed that on the death of 
his three sisters his real estate, consisting of a valuable tract of mining land 
near Joplin and a block of four business houses in Carthage, shall be sold 
by his executor and that the proceeds shall be paid to the city of Carthage 
and held in trust to be used for the erection and maintenance of a public 
hospital in the city. 

WEBB CITY 

Is located in Joplin township, with the city of Carterville adjoining it on the 
east, from which it is separated by a small creek and a string of zinc and 
lead mines stretching up and down the creek. 

On September 10, 1875. John C. Webb, the original proprietor of the 
city and from whom it took its name, filed with the recorder of deeds of 
Jasper county the plat of the town of Webb City, locating it on the northwest 
quarter of the southeast quarter of section 18 in township 28 of range 32. 
Under the fostering care of Mr. Webb and the development of the extensive 
lead and zinc mines in and surrounding it the town grew rapidly, and has 
extended its borders by numerous additions beyond the original limits. Mr. 
Webb expended much money in aiding the growth of the place, erecting many 
buildings himself and doing all in his power for its advancement. It has 
had a rapid growth, the population in 1900 numbering 9,201. The power 
house and main offices and shops of the Southwest Missouri Electric Railway 
are located in this city. Aside from a good retail trade, quite a wholesale 
business is done, as well as a considerable manufacturing business. There 
are three lines of railroad passing through the city, the St. Louis & San 
Francisco, the Missouri Pacific and the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis, 
in addition to the Electric Railway, which passes over the principal streets, 
reaching all the railroad depots, and furnishes quick and convenient trans- 
portation to Joplin and Galena on the west and to Carterville, Prosperity and 
Carthage on the east. 

The city was incorporated as a city of the third class in 1890 under the 
general law of the state. 

In 1893 was erected the Webb City Baptist College on ground donated 
to the college corporation by J. J. Nelson, occupying a beautiful site of about 
six acres in the western part of the city. The building is a large, modern- 
built, commodious structure, costing about fifty-five thousand dollars. In 



=52 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

this enterprise the college has been very liberally aided by citizens of Webb 
City, especially by Mrs. Elizabeth Chinn and E. T. Webb, the son of the 
founder of the city, who is now one of her most prosperous business men. 
The college is in a flourishing condition, with an attendance of one hundred 
and sixty pupils under the care of John W. Keltner, D. D., its president, and 
some thirteen teachers. 

The city has also excellent public schools, employing twenty-eight 
teachers, with first-class high school and ward buildings. 

CARTERVILLE 

Is the center of an extensive mining territory. The mines in the city and 
immediately surrounding it, especially to the south, being the richest and 
yielding a greater amount and a higher grade of lead and zinc ores than any 
other mines covering the same extent of territory in the whole mining dis- 
trict of southwest Missouri. Probably more capital is invested, more expen- 
sive machinery used, and deeper and more systematic mining is done and 
v\ ith more satisfactory results than at any other mining locality in south- 
western Missouri. The formation of the ground admits of comparative 
safety in mining it, a good cap-rock, as a rule, forming a roof to the mines, 
so that very little timbering to hold up the ground is necessary. The mines 
are well drained and the ore is quite generally found in stratified sheet forma- 
tions. The city of Carterville quite naturally enjoys the benefits of the pros- 
perous condition of its mines, and has some large manufacturing and mer- 
cantile establishments, a national bank, a good system of graded schools, 
modern brick school buildings, good railroad facilities, having the Missouri 
Pacific and the Kansas City. Fort Scott & Memphis Railroads located on the 
line dividing it from Webb City on the west, and the Southwest Missouri 
Electric Railroad passing through the city over its principal streets. It has 
for many years been incorporated a city of the fourth class, and, although 
adjacent to Webb City, has always maintained a separate municipal govern- 
ment and refused all overtures looking to uniting the two places under one 
city government. The plat of the town of Carterville was filed in the county 
recorder's office on the 9th day of September, 1875, by William A. Daugherty, 
James G. L. Carter and William McMillan, covering the northeast quarter 
of the southwest quarter and the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter 
•of section 17 in township 28 of range 32, the town being named after Mr. 
Carter, who still resides on his farm near the city. Mr. Daugherty has 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 53. 

resided in the city ever since its organization, having been a very prominent, 
enterprising business man, and having conducted mining operations on a large 
scale, mostly in connection with Thomas N. Davey, and his son, Judge James 
A. Daugherty. Numerous additions have been laid off to the original town. 
The population of the city in 1900 was 4,445. A branch of the Electric 
Railway is operated from Carterville to Prosperity, and many switches and 
spurs from the other railroads are built to the mines. The Missouri Pacific 
Railroad has a branch from the city to and beyond Prosperity, which is likely 
to be extended to Granby in Newton county. Carterville is also located in 
Joplin township. 

ORONOGO. 

This city is located in Mineral township, nine miles west of Carthage 
and three miles north of Webb City. It was first known as Minersville and 
is the oldest mining town in the county. Lead was mined here as early as 
1853, and mining was lesumed here immediately after the war and was 
not prosecuted again at any other place until Joplin started in 1871. The 
town of Minersville was laid out October 20, 1856, by Stephen O. Paine on 
the south half of lot 2 of the southwest fractional quarter of section 31 in 
township 28, of range 'i ; 2, on the north side of Center creek. On November 
x 9» l &73> by an order of the county court of Jasper county the name of the 
town was changed, and it was in that order incorporated as the town of 
Oronogo (Ore-or-no-go), for the reason that there was another Minersville 
in the state, and the name of the postoffice, which up to that time had been 
Center Mines, was soon also* changed to> OronogO'. 

Notwithstanding the length of time that lead and zinc mining has been 
vigorously carried on at Oronogo, it is, for the extent of territory mined 
over, one of the most productive mining localities in the mining district. 
The Memphis, Carthage and Northwestern (now the St. Louis & San Fran- 
cisco) Railroad was built through Oronogo in 1872, Mineral township vot- 
ing bonds to aid its construction. In 1878 a branch of the St. Louis & San 
Francisco Railway was built from Oronogo to Webb City and Joplin, a dis- 
tance of ten miles, which has been since extended to Galena, Kansas. 

In 1868 the Granby Mining and Smelting Company obtained control of 
the mines at this place and have carried on extensive mining operations 
here ever since. Colonel J. Morris Young was the first superintendent 
for that company and r esided at Oronogo for many years — representing Jas- 



54 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

per county in the legislature in the years 1869 and 1870. Judge Charles E. 
Elliott was from an early day the leading merchant in Miners ville and Oro- 
nogo. He served as presiding justice of the county court for the years 
1895 to 1899, during whose term the court houses, commenced under the 
former county court administration, were completed. Ulysses Hendrickson, 
the first sheriff of Jasper county elected after the war by the Democratic 
party, has resided at Oronogo since coming to the county in 1866. The 
city is now a thriving, busy place, with.a population in 1900 of 2,073. 

SARCOXIE. 

The oldest of the cities and towns of Jasper county is the city of Sarco'xie. 
At the site of this place was the first settlement within the borders of Jasper 
county — that of Thacker Vivian in 183 1, as heretofore related. This occurred 
when there was no town west of Springfield ; when there was no Jasper 
county, but when all southwestern Missouri was Greene county and long 
before any land of the county had been surveyed. 

In 1834 the enterprising Mr. Vivian built a log water mill on Center 
creek, where is at present located the Boyd mills, adjoining the present site 
of the city. The mill brought customers in those days from quite a long 
distance, and the result was that stores, shops and dwelling houses soon fol- 
lowed its erection. Dr. Jewett started the first store, and in 1836 William 
Tingle and Benjamin F. Massey started a more pretentious one. 

The town, at the first, was called Centreville, but when a postoffice was 
established it was called Sarcoxie, being named after a Shawnee Indian chief 
who frequently visited the locality and who made friendship with the whites, 
gaining their respect and confidence as a veritable good Indian. 

In 1834 Thacker Vivian made entry of the land, at the local government 
land office, that was afterward platted as the town of Sarcoxie — the south- 
east quarter of section 8 ; township 27, of range 29, but the plat of the town 
was made and filed in the recorder's office much later, August 6, 1840, by 
William Tingle and Benjamin F. Massey, and a United States patent for the 
land was not issued until as late as November 4, 1859, to Tingle and Massey 
as assignees of Mr. Vivian. 

Until after the close of the Civil war Sarcoxie was the most thriving 
and populous town in the county. The stage line from Rolla, the end of the 
railroad, to the southwest passed through the town. The city is located in 
Sarcoxie township near the southeast corner of the county on the line of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 55 

St. Louis & San Francisco Railway, and is a very enterprising business place, 
having a population in 1900 of 1,126. It was organized, November 6, 1883, 
a city of the fourth class. The burning and shipment of lime is among its 
chief industries. It has a large flouring mill, and wheat and flour are among 
its chief shipments. The Wild Brothers' extensive wholesale nurseries are 
a great feature in the business of the city, and much nursery stock is shipped 
by this enterprising firm. It is probably the centre of and shipping point 
for the greatest strawberry raising locality in the United States ; hundreds 
of acres of land are devoted to this industry near the city, and in strawberry 
picking season the population of the city and its suburbs is increased tem- 
porarily to several thousand persons, and shipments of strawberries made 
not only by the car load but by train loads of refrigerator cars. 

CARL JUNCTION. 

At the crossing of the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway and the Joplin 
& Girard branch of that railroad, and near to the crossing of the St. Louis 
& San Francisco and Kansas City Southern Railroads is this important little 
city of the fourth class, which is growing rapidly, being in the midst of an 
excellent farming and fruit-growing region, and also< a region in which good 
mines are being developed. In 1900 its population was 1,177. The town 
of Carl Junction was laid out and platted by Charles L. Skinner on the 14th 
day of April, 1877. It is located in Twin Grove township, on section 6 in 
township 28, of range 33, about fifteen miles west of Carthage and eight 
miles north of Joplin. 

JASPER 

Is a city of 627 inhabitants on the line of the Missouri Pacific Railway 
in the northern part of the county, surrounded by a rich and productive farm- 
ing country, in Preston township. The plat of the town was filed on the 
26th day of April, 1881. by D. A. Harrison, and is located on sections 23 
and 24 in township 30, of range 31, ten miles north of Carthage. 

OTHER TOWNS. 

Among the towns of the county are Neck City, a new mining town in 
the northwestern part of the county, in Mineral township, having a popula- 



56 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

tion in 1900 of 374. This town was platted March 22, 1899, D ) r the Neck 
City Real Estate Company, on the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter 
of section 8, township 29, range 32. The town has had a steady growth 
since its founding and has some very valuable zinc mines. 

Two and a half miles southeast of Neck City and about ten miles north- 
west of Carthage is the town of Alba, located on the east half of the north- 
east quarter of section 16, township 29, range 32. It was platted by Stephen 
Smith and others March 2.4, 1882, and is located near the north bank of 
Spring river, in Mineral township. Besides stores, shops, church buildings 
and school house the town has a good flouring mill, run by water power from 
the river. Lead and zinc are also mined there. 

The town of Belleville, about six miles northwest of Joplin, in Galena 
township, is another mining locality. This town has a branch from the 
Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad, furnishing transportation for 
the products of its mines and for its commerce. 

Duenweg is another new mining town located on the northwest quarter 
of the northeast quarter of section 10, township 27, range 32, platted by J. 
W. Ay lor November 5, 1895, in Joplin township, about six miles east of the 
city of Joplin. 

Prosperity is a mining town in Joplin township, two miles southeast of 
Carterville, at the end of a branch of the Southwest Missouri Electric Railroad 
and on a spur of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. 

Other towns of the county are Reed's, in Sarcoxie township, ten miles 
southeast of Carthage, a station on the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway;' 
Asbury and Waco, in Jasper township, in the northwestern part of the county, 
about two miles apart on the lines of the Joplin & Girard branch of the St. 
Louis & San Francisco Railway and the Kansas City Southern Railway. 
Smithfieid, in Twin Grove township, in the western part of the county, on the 
line of the St. Louis & San Francisco* Railway; Cary, in Preston township, 
six miles north of Carthage, a station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad ; Avilla, 
in McDonald township, ten miles east of Carthage ; Medoc, Georgia City and 
Galesburg, in Jasper township, in the northwestern part of the county ; Pres- 
ton, in Preston township, about six miles southwest of Jasper ; and Scotland, 
in Jackson township, two miles east of Duenweg. 

These towns are the locations for local stores, shops and churches. 
Galesburg is the site of an excellent flouring mill, run by water power from 
Spring river. Smithfieid has a flouring mill, run by power from Center creek, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 57 

and Avilla has a good steam flouring mill, surrounded by a most productive 
farming country. 

PERSONAL SKETCHES. 

Dr. Robert F. Brooks was born on a farm about one mile 
from Oxford, Ohio, on the 8th day of May, 1839. He was the 
sixth born in a family of ten children. His father, Kennedy Brooks, 
was born in Ireland of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His mother was Eliza- 
beth H. (Butler) Brooks, born at Rutland, Vermont, and was a 
relative of General Benjamin F. Butler, the great Union general, lawyer 
and statesman. Robert F. Brooks was raised on a farm and first attended 
district school at his home, afterward attending Miami University at Oxford, 
Ohio, at which he graduated with the highest honors of his class, the class 
numbering forty-one. He then studied medicine, under the guidance of Dr. 
Goodrich, at Oxford, Ohio, where he did much toward assisting his preceptor 
in his large practice, and later attending the medical department of Michigan 
University at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he graduated as a physician. 
He then took up post-graduate work in the medical and surgical departments 
of Columbia College and in Bellevue Hospital, New York city. 

He served four years, during and after the Civil war, as assistant sur- 
geon of the United States battleship Florida. In 1869 he came to Carthage,. 
Missouri, and located in the practice of his profession, to which he gave his 
unremitting attention up to a short time before his death. He had a large 
practice as both a physician and surgeon, not only in Carthage and the sur- 
rounding country, but also in the other cities and towns of the county, where 
he was probably called oftener in critical cases than any other physician, 
and was recognized as the leading surgeon of the county. For many years 
he was the surgeon for a number of the railroads entering Jasper county. 
He was devoted to his profession, was a great student of books, and with a 
remarkable memory he was able to read and remember facts and principles. 

Dr. Brooks never married. He always maintained a pleasant home 
in Carthage, which was presided over by his sister. Miss Lizzie Brooks, for 
whom he had great affection. His youngest brother, Peter Brooks, had 
studied medicine under him and became a highly successful physician in his 
native state of Ohio. When Peter's health had so failed that his life was 
despaired of he came to the home of his brother and sister in Carthage, where 
he was kindly nursed and watched over until his death, which occurred in 



4 



58 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

October, 1898. Six months later, April 19, 1899, Miss Lizzie Brooks died, 
and in less than five months Robert F. died. 

Dr. Brooks was a lover of music and was a good singer and performer 
on the guitar. He took great interest and satisfaction in the cultivation of 
flowers, and was a man of fine taste, public-spirited and very liberal toward 
and considerate of the poor. He died at his home in Carthage September 
6, 1899, a fter several months' illness, in which he fully realized that his sick- 
ness was fatal, and in which he made careful adjustment and disposition 
of his earthly affairs. He was a religious man, having been brought up in 
the Presbyterian church. By his carefully drawn will he disposed of his 
property in his characteristic way, with a view to doing the most good possible 
to suffering humanity. As he had devoted his life to relieving the sufferings 
of his fellow men, not only in a professional way but also in numerous other 
ways, so he desired that his property after death should be devoted to the 
same great purpose. His will provides that his sisters, Arpasia B. Brooks, 
Lucretia B. Miller and Annie M. Brooks, shall each -receive five hundred dol- 
lars annually from his estate during each of their lives, and after the death 
of his sisters his executor shall sell all his property and estate, paying the 
money received therefor to the city of Carthage in trust to be used in either 
erecting or equipping and maintaining a public hospital. Hs library of 
medical books is willed to the city, to be kept and used in such hospital. The 
devise is a valuable and very generous gift. Besides valuable business prop- 
erty in Carthage Dr. Brooks owned a large tract of valuable mining property 
near Joplin. This final act of Dr. Brooks is the fitting consummation of a 
life spent in generous, worthy acts and loving ministrations for others. 

Judge William Byers, former judge of the county court of Jasper 
county, Missouri, was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, November 
14, 18 1 8, being descended from Revolutionary stock, his grandfather hav- 
ing served as a soldier in the Continental army. Judge Byers was raised on a 
farm in his native county and after a course in the common schools he entered 
( hambersburg Academy, at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and at the end of 
three years graduated at that institution. Afterward he was engaged as a 
cierk in a store and in farming. In 1854 he removed to Iowa City, Iowa, and 
in 1857 to Springfield, Missouri, remaining there until the Confederates cap- 
tured the place after the battle of Wilson's Creek, when he returned to Iowa, 
locating this time at Marion, and where he established himself in the dry- 
goods business. At the close of the war he returned to southwest Missouri, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 59 

locating this time at Carthage. In 1872 he became one of the first citizens of 
Joplin after that place had started, where he lived until the time of his death. 

Judge Byers, by judicious business and real-estate investments, became 
quite wealthy. In connection with Patrick Murphy, Mr. Byers laid off addi- 
tions both to Murphy sburg and later to the city of Joplin, one of these 
suburban additions being a long time popularly known as Byersville. In 
1875 Judge Byers, under the law as it then was, was appointed by Governor 
Hardin sole judge of the county court, and at the election in 1878 was elected 
to another term of four years. His administration of county affairs was 
marked with firmness and a desire to serve the best interests of the people 
of the county. He was a Democrat and always acted with that party. 

On March 20, 1854, at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, he married Miss 
Martha L. Jeffrey, who after a short residence in Iowa City died there, after 
her husband's removal to that place. Judge Byers never remarried and had 
no children. He died at Joplin in November, 1890, one of the most highly 
respected citizens of the county, his estate being distributed to his surviving 
brothers and sisters and the children of such as were deceased. 

v Judge John C. Cox was one of the pioneer settlers of Jasper county, 
locating at the present site of the city of Joplin' in June, 1838. He was born in 
Burke county, North Carolina, September 6, 181 1. His parents were David 
and Lucy (Branch) Cox, both natives of North Carolina. When Judge Cox 
was eight years old his parents removed to Jackson county, Tennessee, locating 
on a farm. Judge Cox was raised on a farm and received a fair education in the 
neighborhood schools. His father was sheriff of Jackson county for six years, 
during which time the son served as deputy. After coming to Jackson 
county, Missouri, Judge Cox entered a large body of land in the southwestern 
part of the county, which he improved as a farm, continuing to live there 
until his death, except that during the latter years of the Civil war he was 
compelled to reside temporarily at Neosho, Newton county, returning in the 
fall of 1865 to find his house and other improvements destroyed. He 
immediately set about re-improving his place and erected the brick residence 
which still stands (now in the city of Joplin). He soon had the postoffice, 
Blytheville, re-established at his place and started a country store. Lead 
had been discovered on his farm prior to this, but no active mining was done 
on his land until in 1871, when Moffett & Sergeant procured a mining lease 
.from him. From that time Judge Cox's income from royalties on lead and 
zinc became quite large, especially for a man of his simple and frugal habits 



60 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

of life. He laid off Joplin City on his land and saw it grow to become 
a leading city of southwest Missouri. His manner of life, however, changed 
but little, and he and his family continued to occupy the old homestead 
without any elaborate changes. 

Tudge Cox was a man of integrity and business sagacity, and possessed 
the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens. Although taking little 
active part in the Civil war, he remained firm for the Union cause. In 
1840 he was elected a justice of the peace for Center Creek township, and 
he served thirty years as postmaster of the Blytheville postoffice. At the 
re-organization of the county after the war he was appointed county surveyor 
and was subsequently elected to that office. In the fall of 1873 he was 
elected one of the associate justices of the County Court of Jasper county. 
He filled all of these offices with credit to himself and with a high regard 
for the interests of the public, whom he served with fidelity. 

August 23, 1837, Judge Cox married Sarah A. Mercer, in Jackson 
county, Tennessee, and they became the parents of eleven children, viz. : 
Lucy J., David S., Edward M., John C, Jr., Minerva J., Cassius E., William 
F., Sarah A., Samuel B., James J. and Benjamin F., who all lived to 
manhood and womanhood and all but Lucy J. and David still survive. 
Judge Cox died January 23, 1890, and his wife died within two years after 
the death of her husband. Both had attained to a good old age. 

J»«. THO,« »_. ,*„„,„ ,„„„„«„ „ „.,..„,. „ 

born in May, 1838, in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. His father, John 
Donehoo, was born in Ireland, and his mother, Belle (McElhaney) Donehoo, 
was a native of Virginia. At the age of sixteen Thomas, being thrown on 
his own resources, came to Platte county, Missouri, settling in Weston, 
where he studied medicine, and in 1861 he was graduated at the St. Louis 
Medical College. He located at Easton, Leavenworth county, Kansas, 
where he- successfully practiced his profession until his removal to Medoc, 
Jasper county, Missouri, in May, 1867. Here he opened a drug store and 
also had an extensive practice of medicine. In 1875 Dr. Donehoo purchased 
a stock of dry goods and groceries, continuing his other business, along 
with making occasional investments in real estate and buying and shipping 
stock. 

Aside from being a physician of skill and ability, the Doctor was a 
business man of first class ability and integrity, and! by (industry and 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 61 

faithfulness to business amassed quite a fortune. While a resident of Kansas 
he married Miss Frances Creech. John J. Donehoo, his son, is a druggist in 
the city of Joplin. Dr. Donehoo died at Medoc in February, 1894. 

J . . 

Norris C. Hood, a prominent pioneer settler of Jasper county, whose 
memory is worthy of being cherished by later generations, was born in South 
Carolina, on the 14th of March, 1811, the son of Thomas and Martha Hood. 
Some years after his birth the family removed to Tennessee. Norris received 
a good education for the opportunities offered in the south in his early 
days. He was raised on a farm and for the most part followed farming 
throughout his life. On the 15th of January, 1833, he married Melinda 
Bond, in Monroe county, Tennessee, and continued a resident of that state 
until he moved with his wife and children to Jasper county, Missouri, in 
October, 1852, and settled a good farm on Center Creek three miles west of 
SarcO'xie. 

In the fall of 1856 Mr. Hood was elected sheriff of Jasper county and 
was re-elected to the same office in 1858, serving until the beginning of 1861. 
While serving as sheriff he removed his family to Carthage, building a 
residence on lots fronting the public square, along the west side, on what is 
now the location of the Regan block. 

Notwithstanding his South Carolina birth and southern raising, at the 
breaking out of the Civil war Norris C. Hood took his position on the 
side of maintaining the Union and used all his influence to strengthening 
the sentiment in favor of the Union in Jasper county. He and his family 
were in Carthage when the battle of Carthage was fought, and after Stanfield 
Ross, the then clerk of the circuit and county courts, had removed the 
records of the county to Neosho, Mr. Hood, on learning that they had been 
abandoned by Mr. Ross at that place, took his wagon and went to Neosho 
after them. Soon after this, for safety, he removed his family and the 
county records to Fort Scott, Kansas, where he remained in charge of the 
records until after peace had returned ; and when the county was reorganized 
he returned them to Mr. Bulgin, the newly appointed clerk. 

His wife died May 10, 1862, leaving a family of nine children. Of 
these David C, Joel L. and Mrs. Mary F. Spence have died. Joel L. Hood 
died in the service of his country, having been shot at Stockton, Cedar 
county, Missouri, in October, 1864, while acting as a Union scout. The 
living children of the Hood family are Stephen M., who lives on the old 
home farm near Sarcoxie ; Mrs. Martha R. Freeman, residing in the Indian 



62 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Territory; Thomas C, who lives at Joplin; Amanda, living at Colorado 
Springs, Colorado; and Mrs. Lucy Cunningham and Mrs. Esther Dinsmore, 
who both live in Carthage. 

In the spring of 1866 Mr. Hood built him a new house at the corner of. 
Third and Maple streets in Carthage, to which he brought his family from 
Fort Scott, the former family residence having been destroyed during the 
war. Early in 1867 he was appointed treasurer of Jasper county and held 
that office until after the election in 1868. 

Mr. Hood was an earnest Christian and a faithful, exemplary member of 
the Baptist church and took a great interest in his church and in Christian 
work generally. He was largely instrumental in establishing a Baptist 
church in Carthage after the war and in erecting its present church edifice. 
He made his house a temporary home at all times for the preacher of the 
gospel. He was prominent also as a member of the Masonic fraternity and 
for a number of years was treasurer of Carthage Lodge. He died at 
his home in Carthage on the 23d day of February, 1870. 

Judge John Hornback, one of the earliest settlers of Jasper county 
and one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of the county, 
was born in Champaign county, Ohio, August 24, 1827. His father was 
James Hornback, who when John was only four years old removed to Indiana 
and thence, in October, 1838, to Jasper county, Missouri. His father settled 
on a farm about five miles southwest of Carthage before the land was sur- 
veyed by the government, where both he and his son lived and died. John 
"Hornback's education was such as was afforded in the early days of 
Jasper county, but these opportunities he had improved to the utmost so 
as to become a man of fair educational attainments and able to clearly and 
forcibly express his views either in public speech or in writing. He was a 
man of strong personality and exerted a great influence among the people 
of the county. He served as a justice of the peace for Marion township 
prior to the war, and his fairness and good judgment in his decisions gained 
for him a reputation almost equal to those educated in the law. 

In 1862 Judge Hornback was compelled by the war to leave Jasper 
county and seek safety for himself and family elsewhere, and being a Union 
man in sentiment he went to Douglas county, Kansas, returning to Jasper 
county in the spring of 1866. While in Kansas he served with the militia 
of that state as a first lieutenant of the company to which he was attached. 
In the fall of 1866 he was elected an associate judge of the county court, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 63 

serving as such a term of two years. Judge Hornback was independent 
in his political views, and after the war did not attach himself to either of 
the old political parties. He was a strong and outspoken opponent of 
corruption and corrupt practices in politics and public place, and a sincere, 
earnest reformer. He became a leader of the Greenback and afterward the 
Populist party in his county. He always held the confidence and esteem 
of men of all parties among his acquaintances and was frequently called 
on to act as administrator of the estates of deceased persons, which he did 
with fidelity and to the unvarying satisfaction of the interested living 
representatives. 

He first married, January 24, 1850, Miss Eleanor Walker, who died 
May 2, 1877, leaving eight children of this marriage, — five sons and three 
daughters. He died or the old homestead farm in Jasper township in 
November, 1899. It falls to the lot of few men to be so sincerely mourned 
and missed as was Judge Hornback by his large circle of friends, many of 
them the steadfast friends of a whole life-time. 

Ellwood B. James, one of the most prominent pioneer settlers of 
Jasper county, was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, June 10, 1807. His 
father, David, and his mother, Charlotte, James, were both natives of the Old 
Dominion, belonging to old Virginia families. Ellwood B. James was 
married in 1835 to Elizabeth A. Richardson, also a native of Virginia. In 
the fall of J 837, with his young wife and their only child, he removed to what 
is .now Jasper county, Missouri, but what was at that time Barry county, 
the family of his father-in-law, Joseph Richardson, coming to southwest 
Missouri and settling in what is now Lawrence county at the same time. Mr. 
James opened a store at Centreville (now Sarcoxie) soon after his arrival. 
On the organization of Jasper county in 1841 Mr. James was appointed by the 
county court clerk of the circuit and county courts and ex-officio recorder 
of deeds of the new county, which office he continued to hold by successive 
elections until the beginning of 1859, — a continuous service of eighteen 
years. A\ "hen Carthage was laid out he moved his family and store to 
Carthage and continued his mercantile business until 1844, when he closed 
it out and devoted his attention wholly to the duties of his office. 

In 1857 Mr. James, in partnership with his son, again engaged in 
mercantile business at Carthage, under the firm name of M. M. James & Com- 
pany, which business was sold out by them shortly before Mr. James' death, 
which occurred on the 31st of March, i860. 



64 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Ellwood B. James was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
South, and also a prominent Mason. His wife survived him many years, 
living after his death at Carthage, except the time she was compelled to 
absent herself by war. Their children were Montalbon M., born in Virginia; 
Mary S. Holman, wife of David S. Holman; Elmina S. Bulgin, wife of 
William G. Bulgin; George E. James, and Myra J. Wyne, wife of George 
M. Wyne. 

Air. James by careful management accumulated a considerable property, 
at his death leaving some valuable real estate in and near Carthage to his 
widow and children. 

y 

Judge Isaac E. Koontz died at his home farm, five miles northeast of< 
Carthage, Missouri, on the 23d of January, 1879. He was a native of Ohiov 
born in Fairfield county, December 6, 1821, and was reared in Lancaster, the 
county seat of that county, where he received a good education. When a 
young man he studied civil engineering and assisted in laying out the Hock- 
ing Valley canal. His father, Isaac Koontz, was a native of Pennsylvania. 
At twenty vears of age Isaac E. Koontz married Miss Priscilla Pease, at 
Lancaster, and after his marriag'e -engaged in farming - , which vocation he fol- 
lowed during life, except that during the war he held a position in the inter* 
nal revenue department of the government. In 1867 he sold his farm of over 
two hundred acres in Ohio and removed to Jasper county, Missouri, and locat- 
ed on the farm of nearly four hundred acres, on which he continued to reside 
until his death, with the exception of a year or two passed in Carthage. 

Judge Koontz was a good farmer and business man and a man of intelli- 
gence, sociable and popular wherever known. He was a stanch Republicar 
in politics, and in 1868. as the candidate of that party, was elected a member 
of the county court. During his incumbency of the office the jail of the county 
was erected and a railroad built into' the county. Judge Koontz left a widow 
and five sons and one daughter surviving. Two of his sons and his daughter 
have since died, and three sons, George W., Isaac E. and John, are living. 

Hon. Samuel B. La Force, deceased, was one of the prominent 
pioneer settlers of Jasper county. He was of French descent. His an- 
cestors settled in this country before the Revolution and took part in the 
struggle of the colonies for independence. His father, Raue La Force, was 
a native of Virginia, and his mother, Martha (McGee) LeForce, a native 
of Kentucky. Samuel B. was born May 15, 18 15, and reared in Pike county, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 65 

Missouri, receiving his education there, and in October, 1843, came to Jasper 
county, Missouri, two years after its organization, and settled two miles 
north of Carthage, on the prairie, overlooking Spring river and the town, 
where for many years he resided on his large and beautifully located farm. 

During his residence in Jasper county, Mr. La Force was a leading 
citizen. He was elected and served as the second sheriff of the county, from 
1847 to 185 1, succeeding John P. Osborn in that office. The same year of 
his retirement from the sheriff's office he was elected a representative in 
the legislature for a term of two years. At the breaking out of the war 
he became an active Union man and acted as a guide for General Sigel at the 
battle of Carthage, July 5, 1861 ; afterwards he joined the One Hundred and 
Fifty-second Illinois Infantry, holding a captaincy in that regiment. At the 
close of the war he returned to Jasper county, again taking up his residence 
on his farm. In the fall of 1866 he was nominated as the candidate 
of the Republican party for the offices of clerk of the circuit and county 
courts and ex-officio recorder of deeds and was elected for a term of four 
years. Mr. LaForce was always a capable and faithful officer in all the 
public positions he was called on to fill, served his four years as clerk with 
credit, and retired with the respect of his fellow citizens. During his in- 
cumbency of this last office he removed to Carthage to reside, and survived to 
an advanced age, dying on the 19th day of April, 1899, at the age of nearly 
eighty- four years. 

He was married April 13, 1837, in Pike county, Missouri, to Miss Lucy 
Brown, who died some years before her husband. They had two sons and 
one daughter, all now dead, the only survivor of the family being Mrs. Arra 
(Jenkyn) Murto, a resident of Carthage and a granddaughter of Mr. and 
Mrs. La Force, and a daughter of Mrs. Martha (La Force) Jenkyn, their only 
daughter. 

^Patrick Murphy was born in county Monaghan, Ireland, January 6, 
1839, the son of Michael and Margaret Murphy. When Patrick was eleven 
years old his parents emigrated to America, landing in Philadelphia in 
January, 1850, and very soon located on a farm in Bucks county, Pennsyl- 
vania. The son lived on the farm with his parents till about twenty years 
old, attending the common school and doing farm labor. In 1859 he came 
west and joined in the gold-seekers' rush for Pike's Peak. In Colorado he 
met with reasonable success in mining, but soon turned his attention to 
freighting over the mountains and across the plains. He was engaged in 



66 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

this business for about five years, making his headquarters most of the time 
at Plattsmouth, Nebraska, and during that time crossing the plains thirty-one 
times. Leaving Nebraska in 1865, with William P. Davis, they came first 
to Fort Scott, Kansas, and engaged in the mercantile business. In August, 
1866, Mr. Murphy located in Carthage, Missouri, to conduct a branch of their 
Fort Scott store, and soon their entire business was located in Carthage, Mr. 
Davis following his partner there. The mercantile business of Davis & 
Murphy was continued at Carthage until the fall of 1871. With the Joplin 
mining excitement the firm moved their store to the Joplin mines. Davis & 
Murphy and Moffett & Sergeant laid out the town. of Murphysburg. The 
firm erected a lead smelter, purchased and developed mining land and carried 
on extensive mining operations, later organizing the West Joplin Mining & 
Smelting Company. 

From the starting of Joplin until his death, Mr. Murphy was always 
recognized as a foremost business man of the city, taking a leading part in 
public and private enterprises. At a critical time in the history of the city of 
Joplin, when the lawless element were seeking to rule the city, the good-order 
element insisted that Mr. Murphy must become the leader of their side, and 
after an exciting contest he was elected mayor of the city. Under his ad- 
ministration Joplin became an orderly city. In addition to his mining enter- 
prises, he became president of the Miners' Bank, on its organization, was for 
a time president of the Joplin Woolen Mill Company and vice-president and 
treasurer of the Joplin Water Works. He was a man of indomitable energy, 
of strictest integrity, kind-hearted, and a man who attracted to himself friends, 
and no man appreciated or valued friendship more. 

November .19, 1868, at Carthage, he was married to Miss Belle Workizer, 
who survives him. Their children are Ida E., Howard C, Frank J., Ninun T. 
(now wife of Dr. Frank Mathews) and Nettie I. 

Mr. Murphy died at Joplin in October, 1900. 

J 

* George Rader. — The first man to settle in Carthage after the ravages of 

war had compelled all the old residents to leave the place was George Racier. 
Mr. Rader was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1829. His father, Henry 
Rader, was a native of Pennsylvania, and his mother, Nancy (Black) Rader, 
a native of Virginia. George Rader was reared and educated in Indiana, 
where afterwards he engaged in farming. In the year i860 he went to the 
<tate of Kansas and at the breaking out of the war enlisted and served as a 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 67 

soldier eighteen months, when he was transferred to the commissary depart- 
ment and served to the end of the war. 

In August, 1865, he came from Fort Scott, Kansas, to Carthage, Mis- 
s^uri, hauling a small stock of goods in a wagon, which he opened out in 
one of the small buildings still standing in the town, near the southeast 
corner of the public square. The following May he was appointed postmaster, 
which office he held thirteen years. He served a short time in 1866 as 
comity treasurer, by appointment of the county court, and in the fall of 1866 
Wc.s elected to that office, but being then postmaster he failed to qualify under 
his election. In 1879 Air. Rader was elected mayor of the city of Carthage 
and served a term in that office. For some years previous to his death, 
being in poor health, he did not engage in active business. He died at his 
home in Carthage, September 8, 1886. 

Air. Rader was twice married, his second wife, whom he married at 
Carthage in 1868, being Emily A. (Belt) Rader, who still makes her home in 
Carthage. The two sons of his former marriage are Martin and John, both 
residing in St. Louis. His other children are Malcolm M., also living in St. 
Louis, Mrs. Georgia Osborn, in Carthage, and Mrs. Lydia Billings, at King- 
man, Kansas. 

^Hon. John M. Richardson was for many years prominent in Mis- 
souri state affairs, commencing at an early date, as well as in the affairs of his 
home county of Jasper.. He was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, Sep- 
tember 8, 1820. In the year 1837, with the others of his father's family, he 
came to Jasper county, Missouri. His parents were Joseph and Susannah 
-Richardson. At first, with his father, he settled on a farm, then in Barry 
county, two miles east of Bowers' Mill, on Spring river. Having received 
a good education in Virginia aside from farm work his first employment was 
teaching district school. He studied law at Sarcoxie and was admitted to 
the bar soon after the organization of Jasper county, and was elected to the 
legislature as the representative of Jasper and Newton counties in the fall of 
1844, being the second representative that Jasper county had in that body. 
He secured an addition of territory to Jasper county, taking the same from 
Newton county, which had the effect of placing the town of Sarcoxie in Jas- 
per county, and taking it from Newton. After some years he moved to 
Springfield, Missouri, and practiced his profession, and while there, in the 
fall of 1852, he was elected to the office of secretary of state for the state 
of Missouri, which office he held till the beginning of the year 1857, when 



68 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

he again took up his residence in Springfield, and for a time edited a news- 
paper. Even in that early day, in Missouri, being in sympathy with the anti- 
slavery movement, he supported and voted for Abraham Lincoln for presi- 
dent at the election of i860. He was a strong supporter of the Union cause 
in Missouri. After the breaking out of the war and when a federal force 
came to Springfield he attached himself to General Sigel's command and par- 
ticipated with him in the battle of Carthage. Afterwards obtaining a com- 
mission as colonel from the Union governor, Gamble, he raised a regiment of 
the Missouri state militia in the southwestern part of the state, and saw fur- 
ther service during the war as its commander, his regiment taking part in 
several battles, and also in suppressing the bushwhacking bands that were 
devastating the country. Colonel Richardson was one of the purchasers of 
the large body of swamp lands from Jasper county in the year 1858. Selling 
his interest in most of these lands in 1866 to William Frazier, continuing to 
own, however, four sections of land in one body, and having other landed in- 
terests in this county. In 1875 he moved back to Jasper county, locating at 
Carthag'e, where he made his home up to the date of his death, which occurred 
en the 1 st day of May, 1889. 

On the 2d day of November, 1843, Colonel Richardson married Malinda 
Stewart, of Jasper county, who died a few years previous to his death. Their 
children were Mrs. Kenyon L. Wilber, deceased ; Mrs. Dolly Wyeth, a resident 
of Chicago', Illinois; and John M. Richardson, Jr., who continues to reside 
in Jasper county. His grandchildren, Mrs. Sella (Wilber) Blackeney and 
Mrs. Ruby (Wilber) Sloan, are residents of Carthage. 

Judge Isaac Schooler, a successful farmer and stock-raiser and an 
ex-county judge of Jasper county, now deceased, was a native of Vermont, 
who moved to Ohio in the year 1818, being a pioneer of that state, living in 
Allen county and afterwards in Knox county. His wife was Sarah Schooler, 
born in New Jersey. In 1857 he moved with his family to Jasper county, 
Missouri, settling on a fine tract of land along Dry Fork creek, some nine miles 
northeast of Carthage, on which is a large spring, the stream from which 
furnishes much of the water to Dry Fork : the Schooler spring is known all 
over Jasper county. The farming and stock-raising industry of Mr. Schooler 
and his sons was quite extensive, they some years having" six hundred acres in 
wheat, besides raising large herds of cattle. Isaac Schooler and his two sons, 
Hons. John N. and William R. Schooler, were strong Union men during the 
Civil war, and their united influence has been potent in public affairs ever 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 69 

since. Isaac Schooler was a member of the county court during the years 
1879 and 1880. His son John N. represented the eastern district of Jasper in 
the legislature for the years 1883- 1884, and the other son, William R. 
Schooler, has since served as a member of the county court for four years, 
from 1897 to 1 90 1. « 



John Bunyon Sergeant was born July 16, 1820, in Fayette county, 
Indiana. His father, Stephen Sergeant, was born in North Carolina, and his 
ancestors came to America before the Revolution and participated in the 
Revolutionary war. His mother, Susan (Mathias) Sergeant, was born in 
Tennessee. John's opportunities for education were limited. On reaching 
manhood he located in Wisconsin and became a lead miner. In 1867 he re- 
moved to Minersville (now Oronogo), Jasper county, Missouri, where he 
worked lead mines on the Granbys Company's lease, in partnership with E. R. 
Moffett. In 1 87 1 he and Mr. Moffett obtained mining leases at the site of 
Joplin, Missouri, and thenceforth the firm of Moffett & Sergeant came to be 
widely known as successful business men. They organized and were principal 
stockholders of the Lone Elm Mining & Smelting Company, and their mining 
operations for years were the most extensive of all companies in Jasper 
county. Moffett & Sergeant also organized a bank in Joplin, and with Davis 
& Murphy were founders of the town of Murphysburg, which became the 
center of the city of Joplin. Almost entirely unaided, they built the first railroad 
to Joplin from Girard, Kansas, which was afterwards sold for about a half-mil- 
lion dollars. The Lone Elm Company, after the establishment of White Lead 
Works, became owner of the works. Afterwards Mr. Sergeant built the first 
flouring-mill in .the city of Joplin, and built the first street railroad—a horse 
car line. This last enterprise was a financial loss to its promoter. 

Air. Sergeant passed a busy, active life, was a man of rare judgment and 
foresight, especially as to the business of mining, with which he was most 
familiar. He was an exemplary member of the Congregational church, and 
was at all times a kindly, Christian gentleman, always ready to help forward 
every good cause; and no man ever had occasion to doubt or question his 
honesty. The relations of friendship and confidence existing between him 
and Mr. Moffett in almost a life-time business partnership were most happy, 
and could be exceeded only by Mr. Sergeant's relations with his faithful and 
devoted wife and his children. 

Mr. Sergeant, in the year 1849, in Wisconsin, was married to Pluma J. 
Richards, with whom he lived over fifty years, dying at his home in Joplin on 



70 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

the 17th of March, 1900. His wife survived him less than one year, dying 
March 12, 1901. They were the parents of eight children, viz. : Walter, W. G., 
Mrs. Helen Flagg, Mrs. Alice V. Campbell, Mrs. Jessie C. Owen, Mrs. Alma 
Craycraft and Misses Blanche and Irene Sergeant, six of whom are still alive. 

Dr. Jaquillian M. Stemmons, a leading early settler of Jasper county, 
was killed during the war. He was a native of Virginia, born in 1804, and 
while yet an infant his parents removed to Kentucky, where the son grew 
to manhood, and for many years he was a practicing physician in Logan coun- 
ty, Kentucky, where he was married to Miss Harriet Allen, a native of that 
county. In 1853 Dr. Stemmons, with his family, removed to Jasper county, 
Missouri, settling three and a half miles northeast of Avilla, on a farm of 
about four hundred acres, which for the most part he improved. Here, in ad- 
dition to general farming and stockraising, he practiced his profession, his 
practice extending over the eastern part of Jasper county and into Barton, 
Dade and Lawrence counties. 

Notwithstanding Dr. Stemmons owned a number of slaves, when the 
question of secession was advocated he was most pronounced in favor of ad- 
hering to- the Union, and partly by his influence many of his neighbors stood 
with him, and during the first year of the war his neighborhood remained 
peaceable and he was undisturbed. In the spring of 1862 a recruiting officer 
for the United States Army came into the neighborhood, making Dr. Stem- 
mons' house his temporary headquarters, and here he had gathered a number 
of recruits, when in the nighttime they were surprised by a squad of Confed- 
erate bushwhackers, who shot Dr. Stemmons and burned his dwelling. A man 
by the name of Duncan was killed at the same time. 

Dr. Stemmons' first wife had died in the year 1857, and at the time of 
his death he was living with a second wife, surrounded with a large family, 
some of whom were small children. Dr. Stemmons' descendants are among 
the substantial, best citizens of the county, and nearly all of his surviving sons 
and daughters and their detscendants still live in Jasper county. 

John C. Webb, the founder of Webb City, Missouri, and the owner 
of a large tract of rich mining land in that locality, died at his home in Webb 
City, after a lingering illness, on the 13th of April, 1883. 

He was born in Overton county, Tennessee, March 12, 1826. His 
father, Elijah C. Webb, was born in North Carolina, and his grandfather, a 
native of the same state, was a Revolutionary soldier. His mother was 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. -ji 

Martha (Johnson) Webb. John was the second of a large family of children, 
and obtained his education in log school-houses in Tennessee. He grew up 
a farmer, first working with his father on the old homestead farm. In Jan- 
uary, 1849, ne married Ruth F. Davis, in Overton county, Tennessee, and 
set up in farming on his own account. Thinking to better his fortunes, in 
18^6 he removed to Jasper county, Missouri, and soon entered from the 
government two hundred acres of land and procured by purchase one hundred 
and twenty acres more. He farmed part of this land, erecting a modest 
dwelling, living for years unconscious of the hidden wealth beneath this soil. 
Soon after the breaking out of the Civil war he joined the State Guards, under 
the call of Governor Jackson, in which he served six months, then going- 
south, where he remained during the greater part of the war. Soon after 
the close of the war he returned to his farm in Jasper county, Missouri. One 
day in 1873 he found some lead ore that had evidently been turned up by 
the plow, and on digging at that spot soon unearthed quite a quantity, at a 
depth of only a few feet from the surface. After this he laid out the town 
of Webb City and leased land for mining, receiving a royalty on the lead 
and zinc mined. His land produced these ores in great abundance and Mr. 
Webb was soon receiving a large income from his mines. 

He was the same quiet, unostentatious Christian gentleman he had ever 
been. He was quite liberal with his money in behalf of those in need and in aid 
of public enterprises, churches and colleges. In laying out Webb City he 
reserved a block of lots for public schools, which he donated to the school 
district. He also donated the lots, and almost unaided built a commodious 
brick church, winch he turned over to the Methodist Episcopal church, South, 
being a devoted member of that denomination. He contributed much to the 
growth and development of W^ebb City, building business blocks and many 
dwelling-houses. 

Mr. Webb's wife died some seven years before him. Their children 
now living are: E. T. Webb, a leading business man and banker of Webb 
City, and Mrs. Martha E. Hall, wife of W. E. Hall, of Carthage. Another 
daughter, Mrs. Mary S. Burgner, has died since her father, and a son, John 
B. Webb, died in 1874. 

vt)R. David M. Whitworth was born in Overton county, Tennessee, 
on the 28th clay of September, 1826, and lived there until his removal to 
Jasper county, Missouri. His father, Thomas, and mother, Judith (Weather- 
ford), Whitworth, were both natives of Henry county, Virginia, of English- 



72 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Scotch descent. Dr. Whitworth' s grandfather, John W. Whitworth, served 
throughout the war of the American Revolution as a soldier under General 
Greene and other prominent American officers; and his father served 
throughout the war of 1812. David M. Whitworth attended school in middle 
Tennessee and later was graduated as a physician at Nashville Medical Col- 
lege, in Tennessee, and afterwards took a course in the St. Louis Medical 
College. He practiced his profession in Tennessee until the year 1867, when 
he removed to Jasper county, Missouri, locating on a farm one mile west 
of Webb City. Here he practiced his profession, until within five years of 
his death, having his office in Webb City and retaining a large practice during 
all those years. 

October 4, 1855, Dr. Whitworth was married to Sarah C. Chandler, in 
Ovtrton county, Tennessee, his wife dying in the year 1897. Dr. and Mrs. 
Whitworth have had four children — a daughter, Valeria J., and a son, 
William B., having died some years since. Two other sons — Albert M., a 
lawyer at Webb City, and John T., a farmer living near that place — survive 
their parents. 

Dr. Whitworth was an active, earnest, public-spirited gentleman, devoted 
to his profession, at the same time carrying on farming operations, and a 
man of decided views on public questions. He was an earnest Union man 
during the Civil war. After the war for a few years he acted with the 
Democratic party, but in 1880 voted for James A. Garfield, and also became 
active in the Grange movement, and was independent in politics, voting for 
William J. Bryan for president in 1896. 

Dr. Whitworth died November 25, 1899, leaving hosts of friends in 
Jasper county, being one of the old and best known settlers of the county 
and being a man of marked individuality, fearless in expressing his opinions 
and one who sought to be and do right in all things. 

* Judge John T. Willoughby, ex-county judge and ex-public adminis- 
trator of Jasper county, was born in Allen county, Kentucky, January 18, 
1834, being a son of William Willoughby, also a native of Kentucky, who 
moved with his family to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1851. In 1854 John 
T. Willoughby went to Newton county and erected a sawmill and engaged 
in the lumber business. There, January 21, 1858, he married his wife, Miss 
Ann Lawrence. In 1850 he returned to> Jasper county, purchasing a farm 
west of Sarcoxie, on which he afterwards resided, except temporarily leaving 
it during the war. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 73 

During the war Judge Willoughby was a stanch Union man and was 
made to suffer for his sentiments by the destruction of his home and property. 
He became a member of Company F, Forty-third Regiment of Missouri 
State Militia, and participated in battles and skirmishes in the state. 

He returned to his farm in the fall of 1865. In the fall of 1868 he was 
elected an associate justice of the county court, serving with fidelity in that 
position until the beginning of 1871. He served also as justice of the peace 
and held other positions of trust, and in 1892 was elected public administrator 
of Jasper county, serving four years in that position. Judge Willoughby 
died at his home in Jasper count}', rather suddenly, on the 13th day of 
January, 1898, but had suffered a stroke of paralysis some months previous, 
from the results of which his health was impaired. He left his wife and a 
family of five sons and four daughters surviving. 

Judge Willoughby, although his father was a slave-owner and born and 
reared in a slave state, was always opposed to slavery and since the war 
always acted with the Republican party. 

Jacob W. Young, deceased, an early settler of Carthage, after the war, 
and a leading business man, was born August 29, 1839, in Stark count}-, 
Ohio, near the town of Canal Fulton. His father, George W. Young, as 
also his mother, Elizabeth (Simons) Young, were born in Pennsylvania.. 
Fie finished his education at Massillon, Ohio, and at Greensburg Seminary. 
In i860 he went to Indiana and taught school in that state until the breaking 
out of the war, when he enlisted, at St. Louis, Missouri, as a private soldier 
in the First Missouri Cavalry, and during his service was promoted from, 
the ranks, and at the close of the war was a first lieutenant. In the spring 
of 1866 Mr. Young, in partnership with Dr. A. H. Coffee, came to Carthage, 
Missouri, and opened a drug store, which business is still continued in the 
same location by the Coffee Drug Company. The firm of Young & Coffee 
continued until 1S77, when Mr. Young retired from the business, selling out 
his interest to A. H. Coffee & Company. In a few years Mr. Young became 
a stockholder in the 'Carthage Woolen Mills Company and the manager of 
its mills, which position he held at the time of his death, which occurred in 
the beginning of the year 1894. 

Mr. Young was an energetic, well trained business man, of methodical 

habits, an enterprising, public-spirited citizen, a faithful friend and an earnest, 

upright, Christian gentleman. During the latter years of his life he was a 

faithful member of the Presbyterian church. He served for years as a 

5 



74 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

member of the board of education of Carthage, most of the time being the 
president of the board. He was also a member of the city council. He was 
an active, earnest Republican in politics, but never sought office. He was 
twice married, marrying, in 1868, Miss Caddie Williams, of Springfield, Mis- 
souri, who died in October, 1878. Their only child, Walter E. Young, died 
a year or two after his father. Some years after the death of his first wife 
Mr. Young married Mis. Rillie Garrison, who survives him. Mr. Young, 
during his long residence in Carthage, was highly esteemed and ranked as a 
leading citizen of Jasper county. 



J 



MALCOLM G. McGREGOR. 



Judge Malcolm Graeme McGregor, a distinguished lawyer and jurist of 
Jasper county, whose influence and efforts have been most potent in the de- 
velopment and upbuilding of this section of the state, was born at Wads- 
worth, Medina county, Ohio, January 15, 1843, the youngest in a family of 
nine children whose parents were John and Isabella (Brock) McGregor. The 
father and mother were both natives of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland. 
When a boy the father was always able to recite more verses from the Bible 
than any other pupil in the Sunday-school O'f his native town and thus he 
attracted the attention oi the Rev. Alexander Fletcher, a leading Presbyterian 
clergyman of London, who was visiting Hamilton and induced the lad's par- 
ents to allow him to take young John back with him to London. He bore 
all the expenses of the journey and of an educational course in that city. 
After his return to Scotland John McGregor, with the assistance o<f his 
parents, completed his education in Glasgow University, and upon again 
locating in Hamilton he worked at the weaver's trade in a factory- there. At 
the same time he engaged in teaching" a night school for the benefit of his 
fellow workmen. 

About the year 1827 John McGregor came to America, leaving his wife 
and four children in Scotland, owing to- a lack of means wherewith to bring 
them with him. For a short time he resided in Canada and soon secured 
money enough to pay the passage of his family to the new world. Soon 
after the arrival of his wife and children he took up his abode in the United 
States, settling in Vermont, where he worked at his trade and during the 
winter seasons also acted as the village schoolmastere. About 1835 he joined 
some of his neighbors and emigrated to the west, settling in Medina county, 
Ohio, about thirty miles from Cleveland, in the Western Reserve. That 




MALCOLM G. MCGREGOR. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 77 

part of the state was then a dense forest, but was soon settled, mostly by 
people from New England, who cleared and improved the land. Aside from 
<loing much manual labor in developing a farm Mr. McGregor established 
a private academy at Wads worth and became an educator of considerable 
note and prominence. He conducted the academy with success up to the 
year of his death, which occurred in 1848. Shortly prior to his demise he 
and his eldest son, Archibald McGregor, purchased a newspaper at Canton, 
Ohio, and the father had arranged to remove his family from Wadsworth 
to Canton when, in the fall of 1848, he died suddenly of heart disease. After 
his demise the arrangements for the removal to Canton were carried out by 
his widow, who in 1849 went to live with her son, Archibald McGregor, 
who was married and was conducting the Stark County Democrat, which 
he and his father had purchased the previous year. Here also< Malcolm found 
a good home. 

Malcolm McGregor attended the public schools of Canton and as soon 
as old enough assisted in the work of the printing office. His first duty was 
the delivery of the papers about the town, and at the age of sixteen he 
abandoned the schoolroom entirely in order to give his attention exclusivelv 
to his duties as an employe in his brother's printing office. He was thus 
engaged for nearly five years, and during the greater part of the time acted 
as foreman of the office, having the management of the mechanical depart- 
ment. In the fall of 1863, a short time before attaining his majority, he 
went to Macjuoketa, Iowa, to visit his brother, John, and his sister, Mrs. 
Emma Jenkins, who was just older than himself. After arriving in that 
state he decided to remain and during the winter engaged in teaching school. 
The next summer he acted as a salesman in his brother's store and during 
the succeeding autumn and winter he taught in the public schools of Ma- 
cjuoketa, Iowa. 

In the spring of 1865 Mr. McGregor entered the law office of Charles 
M. Dunbar as a student, and in the fall of the same year he went to Kansas 
City, Missouri, where he continued his preparation for the bar in the office 
and under the direction of his brother-in-law, Colonel J. W. Jenkins, who had 
removed from Iowa to Missouri after the close of the war. In February, 
1866, Mr. McGregor was admitted to the bar before Judge John A. S. Tutt, 
at Lexington, Missouri, and on the 26th of the same month he left Kansas 
City by stage for Fort Scott, Kansas, in search of a favorable location in which 
to begin the practice of law. On reaching his destination he left his grip at 
the hotel, for there were no public conveyances to carry him further, and 



78 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

walked first to Lamar, Missouri, a distance of forty miles, taking two days 
to make the trip. He remained over Friday in Lamar, and on Saturday, the 
3d of March, he walked to Carthage, about twenty-five miles, where he lo- 
cated and has since made his home. When he left Kansas City, he had never 
owned any firearms, he did not think of equipping himself with anything of 
that nature, but his sister insisted that he should not go without buying a 
revolver, believing no doubt that it was a necessary equipment for practicing 
law in southwestern Missouri in those days. Notwithstanding he rode over 
the country on horseback and alone, and visited other county seats, often col- 
lecting large sums of money, which he was compelled to carry with him, 
there being no banks or safes in the country, he was never molested. On 
his walk from Lamar to Carthage he met only one person on the way — a man 
walking, like himself, but in the opposite direction. After leaving Pettis 
creek, about five miles south of Lamar, where were two- or three farm houses, 
he passed no other house on the road until reaching the ford of Spring river, 
one mile from Carthage. Having walked until about two o'clock in the 
afternoon without anything to eat since an early breakfast, he saw a small 
log house some distance off on the prairie without any enclosure or anything 
to indicate at that distance that the place was inhabited. Thinking, however, 
there might be a chance to get something to eat, he walked to the house and 
found there a woman and some children, and was told by the woman that 
she had some cornmeal and salt and a little bacon, and could prepare him 
some dinner from these. The meal, of course, to> a hungry man tasted fine. 
The future judge waded Spring river at what was then known as Daw- 
son's ford. Although his sister had insisted that if he did not find the pros- 
pect good he should return to- Kansas City, he did not return until the fall o<f 
1868, when, accompanied by his wife, he went on a visit, riding on a railroad 
train from Fort Scott to his destination — a means of travel in marked con- 
trast to the manner in which he made the outward trip. Soon after his 
arrived in Jasper county Judge McGregor entered upon a good law practice, 
and in many ways aside from his profession he was prominently identified 
with the substantial growth and development of this portion of the state. 
At that time no postoffice had been re-established in Jasper county after the 
war and he wrote the letter to Washington that was the means of establish- 
ing a postoffice at Carthage, and secured the appointment of George Rader as 
postmaster. He continued in the active practice of law, his clientage being 
of an important character, and was thus engaged until the fall of 1880, when 
he was elected judge of the circuit court for the circuit comprising Jasper, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY. 79 

Newton, McDonald and Lawrence counties. So acceptably did he fill the 
position that at the end of his first term of six years he was re-elected to that 
-office, serving in all for twelve years. When a town school was organized 
in 1867 he was elected a member of the first board of education, and con- 
tinued to serve as such almost continuously until his election to the bench. 
At that time he was also serving as president of the school board of Carthage 
and as city attorney of the city, and resigned both these positions to accept 
the judgeship. He fully sustained the dignity of the law, and with a broad 
and comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and famil- 
iarity with precedents, he based his decisions upon the points in litigation, 
the facts presented and the law applicable to them, and thus his decisions were 
models of judicial soundness and perspicuity. 

In May, 1868, Judge McGregor was united in marriage to Miss Olive 
Stephenson, of Carthage, who died in 1882. He has two living daughters: 
Mrs. Ora DeWees, of Malvern, Ohio, and Miss Anna, who is living with 
her father in Carthage. After coming to the west Judge McGregor acted 
with the Republican party, but was never a strong partisan, and with the 
exception of the time when his name was 011 the ticket in connection with 
the judgeship he has never been a candidate for a lucrative public office. 
Each time he was an independent candidate for the bench and not the nominee 
of a party convention. He was < apposed by the candidate of the Democracy 
and supported by the mass of the Republican and Greenback parties and bv 
numerous independent Democrats. In 1896 and 1900 he supported William 
J-. Bryan for the presidency, and since 1896 has been a Democrat of the Bryan 
school, opposing the financial and expansion policy of the Republican partv. 

In the fall of 1872 Judge McGregor united with the Methodist Episcopal 
church and in 1892 was elected a lay delegate from the St. Louis conference 
to the general conference of that church, which met at Omaha, Nebraska, in 
May, and attended the sessions of that body. As a citizen he has ever mani- 
fested a public-spirited interest in everything pertaining to the welfare and 
progress of the community, and his efforts have been of marked benefit to 
the locality. He is now the senior member of the Jasper county bar. The 
lawyers living in the county in ante helium days left here during the war and 
never returned to reside, and when Judge McGregor took up his abode here 
in March, 1866, there were only two lawyers in the county. These were 
James Allison and William J. Cameron, who had recently settled here, com- 
ing to Missouri from Illinois. Later both removed from the county, thus 
leaving the Judge as the oldest member of the county bar in years of con- 



80 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

tinuous connection therewith. He has seen the county expand from a popula- 
tion of perhaps less than one thousand to more than eighty-four thousand, 
and has witnessed its development from a purely agricultural district, more 
than one hundred miles remote from railroads, to one of the richest counties 
in natural productions in the United States, with more miles of railroad than 
any other county in Missouri. Judge McGregor stands to-day among the 
most distinguished and honored citizens of his section of the state, yet it is 
not because' of special prominence in public affairs that he has, and is justly 
entitled to, the respect and confidence of his fellow men, but because his per- 
sonal qualities are such as to make men esteem and honor him. 

JUDGE A. J. OSBORN. 

In a record of those who have been prominently identified with the 
development and progress of Jasper county it is imperative that definite con- 
sideration be granted to the subject of this review, for not only is he a promi- 
nent representative of the agricultural interests of this favored section but 
has the distinction of being a native son of the golden west, with whose for- 
tunes he has been identified during his entire lifetime, concerned with various- 
industrial pursuits and so ordering his life as to gain and retain the confidence 
and esteem of his fellow men. 

Judge A. J. Osborn was born in Duval township, Jasper county, Mis- 
souri, November 19, 1847. His father, Wiley Osborn, was a native of Ten- 
nessee, as was also his mother, who was in her maidenhood Miss Eliza 
Alexander. She passed away at the comparatively early age of forty years. 
Wiley Osborn was reared and educated in the state of his nativity, and in a 
very early day he came to Jasper county, Missouri, where he secured land' 
from the government, becoming a prosperous agriculturist of this locality. 
He was called to the home beyond after reaching the age of about fifty years. 
In the family of Wiley and Eliza (Alexander) Osborn were seven children, 
all of whom grew to years of maturity. 

A. J. Osborn. whose name introduces this review, was the fourth child 
in order of birth in his father's family, and his early education was received 
in a log school house in Duval township. He was only about eight years of 
age when his father died, and he was then obliged to 1 lay aside his text- 
books and remain at home with his mother. He remained at home until 
his marriage, which occurred in 1870, after which he located upon the farm 
which 'ne now owns and operates. The place consists of two hundred and 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. Si 

twenty acres, most of the land being under a high state of cultivation, and here 
he is successfully engaged in general farming, his well tilled fields yielding a 
golden return for the care and labor bestowed upon them. 

In Duval township, Jasper county, on the 8th of June, 1870, Mr. Osborn 
was united in marriage to Eliza A. Sample, a native of Iowa. She came to 
Jasper county, Missouri, when twelve years of age, and has since been identified 
with the growth and development of this section of the state. Unto Mr. and 
Mrs. Osborn have been born seven children, namely : George W., who mar- 
ried Ora Lewis; Ola, the wife of Jasper Crampton; Ida, the wife of Ed 
Gregory, of Oronogo ; Jesse, Fauna, Mary and Ray, at home. The children 
were all born in Jasper county. Judge Osborn has taken an active part in 
public affairs, and in 1896 his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and 
ability, elected him to the office of county judge, in which important office he 
served with credit for two years. He has held many local offices, and is 
recognized as a leader in the ranks of his party in this locality. 

EDWARD J. BURCH, M. D. 

Among the members of a profession where advancement can not arise 
from influence but where success must come through individual merit Dr. 
Burch ranks high, not only among the medical fraternity of Carthage but 
throughout the state. Probably no young surgeon in Missouri has a wider 
or more remunerative practice than he. The Doctor was born near Cannier, 
Kentucky, March 21, 1866, a son of Judson C. and Cathrin (Wilcoxen) 
Burch. In 1877, with his parents, he moved from his native state to Fredonia, 
Kansas, where he grew to manhood. After graduating from the Fredonia 
high school he completed his literary education under the supervision of a 
private tutor, M. O. Kellar, A. M. Thereafter he began preparation for his 
medical career by reading medicine for two years in the office of Dr. A. N. 
Perkins, of Fredonia. Later he matriculated in the Missouri Medical Col- 
lege, St. Louis, and was graduated from that institution with the class of 1887. 

Locating at once in Fredonia, he was appointed county physician for 
Wilson county, which position he relinquished upon moving to Carthage in 
1 89 1. Since then the Doctor has resided in Carthage, with the exception 
of two years, during which he was connected with Hahnemann Medical Col- 
lege, of Chicago, — one of the oldest and best known institutions of its kind 
in America, — as lecturer on materia medica. He was also surgeon to St. 
Mary's Home for Children, in Chicago, during that period. Desirous of 



82 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

fitting himself for special operative surgical work, the Doctor has given three 
years of his time to post-graduate study along that line in the best equipped 
hospitals in this country. A year's surgical study in Europe is anticipated 
and being arranged for. 

In 1889 Dr. Burch was joined in wedlock to Miss Louise W. Howe, 
daughter of Dr. A. W. and Ella (Leonard) Howe, formerly of New York, 
a young lady of exceptional culture and rare attainments, with more than a 
local reputation as a vocalist. The Doctor and his wife now have two chil- 
dren, Allen Banks and Edna Louise. The family occupies an enviable posi- 
tion in social circles and is held in high esteem by many friends. 

JWILLIAM M. CARTER. 

The subject of this article was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, in the 
year 1835. His father, Daniel Sims Carter, was born in Kentucky, in 1809, 
and his grandfather, John Carter, was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, 
in 1766. His great-grandfather, Thomas Carter, with two of his sons, gave 
up their lives in the struggle for liberty and independence, serving under Gen- 
eral Francis Marion, the swamp-fox of the Revolutionary war. They were 
also from Albemarle county, Virginia. John Carter, the grandfather of our 
subject, was an early settler of Kentucky and removed to Indiana in pioneer 
times. His son, Daniel, was the eldest of three sons and two daughters, the 
other children being: John, Henry, Elizabeth and Mary. He was married 
in Indiana, in 1832, to Sarah J. Beerman, a native of Tennessee, whose father, 
William Beerman, was a native of the city of Charleston, South Carolina, born 
in 1769. His grandmother, on the maternal side, was a Buchanan, also of the 
state of Virginia, and they were also early settlers of Kentucky and thence 
removed *£ the territory of Indiana. The paternal grandmother of our sub- 
ject was a member of the Sims family and her mother's maiden name was 
Everett. Their respective families became residents of the south in colonial 
days. 

In the year 1838 we find William M. Carter upon the border of western 
civilization — the southeastern county of Iowa, to which place his father had 
removed with the family in the autumn of 1838. It was there that almost 
fourteen years of his boyhood were passed amid primitive pioneer surround- 
ings, which were typical of the wants and hardships of a western farmer. He 
participated in all of the ordinary sports of children, yet never tired of listen- 
ing to his mother read, and would thus sit for hours, receiving from her his 




WILLIAM M. GARTER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 85 

earliest education. It is to her influence that he owes his faith in human 
progress through the dissemination and triumph of truth, as well as his taste 
for philosophic speculations. Ever actuated by motives of principle, whose 
effulgent light always proved the sunshine to guide and direct his footsteps in 
all his associations and relations in life, in proportion to his love for the honora- 
ble, the just and the fearless, has been his hatred of the hypocrite, the hum- 
bug and the truckling sycophant. In conversation his words have the inten- 
sity of thorough conviction, yet he at all times manifests a generous apprecia- 
tion of the views of others, which trait attracts and commands the respect 
of his friends. 

In the seventeenth year of his age he manifested that spirit of adventure 
inherent in his ancestors, and bidding adieu to home and friends he turned 
his face toward the setting sun, entering at that time — fifty years ago — upon 
a long and perilous journey, driving an ox team across the western prairie to 
where the city of Omaha now stands, and thence to the golden sands of the 
Pacific, constituting a journey of two thousand miles over what was at that 
time a desert and savage waste. After six months of hardships, danger and 
privation Mr. Carter reached the gold fields of the mountains of California. 
With alternating success and misfortune, with many weird and hazardous 
trials in search of golden treasure, seven years were passed amidst extremely 
adventurous life in the mountainous regions of the Golden state, twice accu- 
mulating handsome little fortunes, and as often, through adventure, sacrificing 
all. With a few hundred dollars and an experience in every phase of western 
mountain home and mining life, in November, 1859, he returned, at the age 
of twenty-four, to the scenes of his boyhood, to meet once again the loving 
mother and father, his only sister, Eliza, and his three brothers, Frank, Everett 
and George. 

Possessing an active mind and desirous of improving his opportunities, 
he started to school and for three months he pursued the study of mathematics 
and bookkeeping, but again visions of the gold mines, snow-capped mountains 
and pine forests lured him away from home and friends, and after a stay of 
eight months under the parental roof he made his way to the banks of the Rio 
Grande river, the border of old Mexico, — a distance of one thousand miles 
from home, having ridden the entire way on horseback. While en route he 
meditated upon the value of financial opportunities in the interior Mexican 
states and the insecurity attaching to life and property at that, the most dan- 
gerous and unsettled period of political and Indian affairs ever known in that 
border country. The result of his meditation is indicated by the fact that seven 



86 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

months later he was found in the gorges and on the* mountains of Colorado, 
near the region which is now known as the Leadville and Cripple Creek coun- 
try. The following winter he again returned to Iowa, and on the 2d of March, 
1862, in the town of Salem, Lee county, Iowa, he was married to Miss Olivia 
Mary Sheldon, a daughter of a well-known and highly respected Quaker family. 

It was at this time that the earliest reports of gold discoveries in Montana 
were being circulated, and on the morning following their wedding day the 
happy'couple started westward on their bridal tour, experiencing as great hard- 
ships, perhaps, as has ever yet been penned by writer of pioneer perils, amid 
savage, wild and western wanderings. After many weeks of perilous journey- 
ing Mr. Cnrter and his bride reached a point nearly three hundred miles north 
of Salt Lake City, camping at the foot of the precipitous and snow-capped 
peaks of the Salmon river mountains. Unsuccessful in his efforts to penetrate 
the newly-discovered gold fields a.t this quarter, a weary return journey of 
two hundred miles was necessitated over a region of as desolate country as 
is embraced within the confines of the United States. When they arrived at 
Green river their horses were very much exhausted by the trip, and in order 
to lighten their burdens featherbeds, trunks, and, indeed, everything not abso- 
lutely essential, were cast away and a new start westward was then made. 
After mank weeks of great hardships they arrived on the west bank of Snake 
river, neat" the mouth of Boise river, where four days were employed in trans- 
ferring their wagons, teams and little personal effects across this perilous, 
rapidly-running river. In crossing they were so unfortunate as to lose two of 
their horses, but happy in the thought that they escaped with their lives, 
although they had only two wretchedly poor horses remaining'. The loss of 
their other horses necessitated the abandonment of the wagon. From this 
point to the nearest settlement was a distance of nearly four hundred miles, 
and to get transportation was absolutely impossible, so naught was left for 
them but to> walk, which they did, leading their miserably poor horses, on 
whose backs were tied their earthly all, — their bedding, a meager supply of 
flour, a little salt, tin cups and a frying pan. Their shoes were held together 
with buckskin strings, petticoats were torn in tatters and pants were made of 
grain sacks. 

In the early part of October Mr. and Mrs. Carter, together with six other 
families, arranged a home for the winter in a little valley in eastern Oregon, 
one hundred and ten miles from a store or postoffice. A cabin and a cow were 
soon among their possessions, and theie for the next eight years they made 
their home. The gold discoveries in that portion of the country — in Oregon, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 87 

Montana and Idaho — wrought a rapid financial revolution throughout the 
district, and prosperity and peace, in their truest sense, came to bless the Carter 
household. At the age of thirty Mr. Carter was again comfortably situated 
and well-to-do financially, but three years later, in his eagerness to get rich, 
he made investments, and instead of success met with reverses and misfor- 
tune. It was at this time that his wife and daughters, Fannie and Willie, 
and his son, Lee, then six, four and two years of age. returned to the old home 
in Iowa for a visit. This necessitated a six-hundred-mile trip by wagon to the 
nearest railroad point on the Central Pacific. On returning to Oregon Mr. 
Carter concluded to sell his effects and seek other fields for future effort. 
During the summer and fall of 1870 with his family he traversed the western 
and southern borders of Kansas, arriving finally at Baxter Springs. Late in 
November of that year he ventured into* the cattle business, hoping to regain 
his lost fortune, but was again unsuccessful. One year later he was found 
living in a shack in a little out-of-the-way lead mining town in southwestern 
Missouri, and here he remains to-day, — thirty years later, — an old man, but 
still retaining his intellect and healthy vigor of mind and soul, a highly re- 
spected citizen of a city he has done so much in transforming from a little 
lead-mining camp to the fourth city in point of population in the state of 
Missouri. 'Tis here with a modest competency, living in his comfortable and 
pleasant home, surrounded by family and friends, together with flowers and 
books, that he watches the shadows as they deepen over life's sunset, main- 
taining a staid and thorough conviction that there is naught but nature and 
her immutable forces. To the query, "\\ 'hat is your belief in a future life?"' 
he gives answer by quoting : 

"What is there to fear after death? 

If the body and mind suffer the same fate, 
I shall return and mingle with nature; 
If a remnant of my intellectual fire escapes death, 
I will flee to the arms o>f Nature's God." 

During his active career Mr. Carter has held the positions of county 
assessor, deputy sheriff, mayor, delegate to the state conventions, and dele- 
gate to the Democratic national convention, at Indianapolis, in the year 1896. 
He was an active worker for many years in the Joplin Commercial Club, is 
the present chairman of its historical committee, is a member of the Carnegie 
library board of Joplin and president of the Old Settlers Association. In his 



88 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

thirty years residence in Joplin, for the sterling qualities of truth, integrity 
and honesty he commands the confidence and esteem of all who know him. 
Outspoken, blunt and fearless, he is ever ready to express his convictions and 
defend them by the force of reason and logic at all times. In his comfortable 
home, amidst loved ones, we leave him with his books and home pleasures — 
one of the very oldest and most highly respected citizens of the great mineral 
metropolis of Missouri — the proud city of Joplin. 

WILLIAM H. PHELPS. 

In no profession is there a career more open to talent than is that of the 
law, and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful preparation, 
a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life, or of the under- 
lying principles which form the basis of all human rights and privileges. 
Unflagging application and intuitive wisdom and a determination to fully 
utilize the means at hand, are the concomitants which insure personal success 
and prestige in this great profession, which stands as the stern conservator of 
justice ; and it is one into which none should enter without a recognition of 
/the obstacles to be overcome and the battles to be won, for success does not 
^ perch on the falchion of every person who enters the competitive fray, but 
comes only as the diametrical result of capability. Possessing all the requisite 
qualities of the able lawyer, William H. Phelps stands to-day among the most 
distinguished practitioners of southwestern Missouri, and is equally promi- 
nent in St. Louis, where he is located much of the time as an attorney for 
the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company. 

Mr. Phelps was born on a farm near the town of Hinsdale, Cattaraugus 
county, New York, October 16, 1845, anc ^ represents one of the old families 
of Connecticut. Llis youth was passed on the old homestead and his educa- 
tion, begun in the common schools, was completed by a course of .study in 
Olean, New York. Not desiring to follow agricultural pursuits, but pre- 
ferring a professional career, he began the study of law at the age of nineteen 
years, under the direction of the Hon. M. B. Chaplain, of Cuba, New York. 
He afterward entered the Albany Law School, and was graduated in that 
institution in the spring of 1867. 

Believing that the west would furnish better opportunities for advance- 
ment to a young practitioner than could be obtained in the more thickly set- 
tled east where competition was greater, Mr. Phelps at once started for Mis- 
souri, locating in Carthage, where he has since made his home, although his 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 89. 

professional duties demand that he spend a large portion of his time in St. 
Louis, where his business office is located. He had not been long in Carthage 
before he tried his first case. Indeed he had not opened an office at the time. 
The incident, illustrating the energy and resourcefulness of Mr. Phelps, is 
as follows: A countryman living about ten miles from Carthage came to 
the town and engaged another young lawyer to go to Preston, a village about 
ten miles away, and conduct a law suit before a justice of the peace. Mr. 
Phelps learned of this fact and on the day of the trial he walked to Preston, 
hunted up the opposing party in the suit and told him that his opponent had 
a lawyer. "I am a lawyer," continued Mr. Phelps, "and will you give me 
five dollars if I successfully represent you in this case?" The man agreed 
to the proposition and Mr. Phelps won the case, and after receiving his five 
dollars — his first fee — walked back to Carthage. This incident was after- 
ward related by the man whom he had defended and brought his name before 
the public. From that time his clientage grew, but the satisfaction which 
he had in winning his first case has perhaps never been greater, even when 
he has won suits involving thousands of dollars. 

Interested in the political situation of the country and its possibilities 
from an early day, Mr. Phelps soon became a leader of the Democracy in 
Jasper county, and was chairman of the county committee in 1868. In 1874 
he became the nominee for representative to the legislature from Jasper county. 
The Democrats having always been hopelessly in the minority, his party friends 
did not think he could possibly be elected, but to their great suprise and to 
that of the Republicans as well, he was victorious, owing largely to his energy 
and capable management, which resulted also in the election of many other 
candidates on the ticket. From the beginning he was prominent in the legis- 
lature and soon became a recognized leader in the councils of his party in the 
state. For many years he was a member of the Democratic state executive 
committee and has been a delegate to almost every national convention 
since 1868. 

In Northfield. Ohio, in 1868. Mr. Phelps was married to Miss Lois Wil- 
son, who was accidentally killed in a runaway in 1894. He has two daugh- 
ters and a son — Helene, Mrs. Florence Rothert and William H. His home is 
the finest residence in the county. It is built of Carthage stone and occupies 
a splendid site. Mr. Phelps has always manifested a laudable public spirit, 
and has contributed generously of his means to the promotion of many move- 
ments and measures calculated to prove of general good. A man of dis- 
tinctive and forceful individuality, of broad mentality and most mature judg- 



90 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

ment, he has left and is leaving his impress upon the political and profes- 
sonal interests of Missouri. His study of economic questions and matters of 
public polity has been so close, practical and comprehensive that his judg- 
ment is relied upon and his utterances have weight in those circles where 
the material progress of the state is centered, as well as among those who 
guide the destines of the commonwealth. 

AUGUSTUS W. HOUGH. 

Augustus W. Hough, who is engaged in the real-estate business in Carth- 
age and in operating lead and zinc mines in Jasper county, where he is widely 
and favorably known as an enterprising and progressive citizen, was born 
in Williamsburg, Wayne county, Indiana, on the 25th day of November, 
1835, and is descended from an old Pennsylvania family connected with the 
Society of Friends or Quakers. His grandfather, Ira Hough, was born in 
Bucks county, Pennsylvania, while his son, Alfred Hough, the father of our 
subject, was born at Guilford Court House, North Carolina, on the 16th of 
August, 1 8 10. After arriving at years of maturity he married Anna Marine, 
who was born at Charleston, South Carolina, November 10, 18 10, a daughter 
of John and Mary (Charles) Marine. When our subject was only eight 
years of age his parents removed to. Middlebury, Elkhart county,' Indiana, 
and there the father died in 1877, while the mother, who long survived him, 
passed away at White Pigeon, Michigan, in March, 1898. Their children 
were Emma J., now the wife of A. H. Hopkins, of Goshen, Indiana; M. 
Ellen, who married W. A. Mann, a resident of White Pigeon, Michigan ; 
Augustus \\\, of this sketch; and William R., who is now engaged in the 
practice of law in Greenfield, Indiana. 

After accompanying his parents to Middlebury, Indiana, Augustus W. 
Hough there attended the public schools, and later he was a student at the 
Ontario Collegiate Institute, and also at Hillsdale College, Michigan. Deter- 
mining to enter upon the practice of law, he began reading under the direc- 
tion of Joseph Mather, of Goshen, Indiana, and later continued his studies 
in the law department of the State University at Ann Arbor, where he grad- 
uated with the class of 1865. He began practice in Greenfield, Indiana, in 
connection with his brother, William R. Hough, under the firm name of 
Hough & Hough, and for several years they conducted a successful and 
lucrative practice. In 1875, however, Augustus W. Hough came to Carth- 
age, Missouri, where he has since made his home, and with its substantial 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY. 91 

development and upbuilding he has been prominently identified. For a num- 
ber of years he has been engaged in operating lead and zinc mines and in the 
real-estate business, conducting many important realty and mining deals or 
transactions. His efforts have resulted successfully from a financial stand- 
point as well, bringing- to him a handsome income, and at the same time he 
has gained the confidence and good will of all by reason of his straightforward 
business methods. 

In 1867 Mr. Hough was united in marriage to Miss Martha Walker, of 
Pendleton. Indiana, where her birth occurred. She is an estimable and highly 
accomplished lady,— educated at a school for young ladies at Indianapolis 
and completing her education at Fort Wayne College. She is a daughter of 
Dr. Madison G. and Mary A. (Chapman) Walker. Unto our subject and 
wife has been born one child, Anna, who is a graduate of the Carthage high 
school, subsequently attending at DePauw University, and is now a brilliant 
young lady of rare musical attainments. 

Mr. Hough is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a 
Mason and an Elk. He is one of the strong men because one of the best 
balanced, most even and self-masterful of men, and he has acted his part well 
in both public and private life. 

JAMES B. WILD. 

Among the successful and enterprising business firms of Sarcoxie, Jasper 
county, Missouri, is that of James B. W r ild & Brothers, nurserymen, of which 
James B. Wild is president, and his brothers, Henry N. and" Frank H. % are 
the two other members of the firm, the business having existed since 1875. 

James B. W T ild was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, on September 26, 
1849. His parents were born in Germany and after emigrating to America 
settled in Wisconsin, where they remained until our subject was ten years old, 
when they removed to St. Louis, Missouri. Here young Tames took a short 
course in the Bryant & Stratton Business College. In 1868 he came to Jasper 
county. Missouri, and acted in the capacity of foreman for an uncle, in the 
lumber business, in a sawmill, later engaged in cigar manufacturing, and still 
later became a farmer, continuing in agricultural pursuits until 1875. At 
that date, in association with his brothers, Henry N.' and Frank H., he 
embarked in the nursery business, it being organized in 187s under the firm 
name of James B. Wild & Brothers. This business was started in a small 
way, but now six hundred acres of land is under cultivation and the business 



92 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

has become of great volume and importance through the county. In addi- 
tion to nursery stock small fruits are largely grown for the northern market. 

Mr. Wild was married on August 22, 1875, to Miss Rosa Belle Monholen, 
who was born in Newton county, Missouri, and three children were born of 
this union. The sons are successful men of business, Gilbert H. being a 
grower of fruit and flowers for the northern markets, making a specialty 
of peonies, and Edward A., also* interested in fruit and owns the Wilds livery 
stable in Sarcoxie. His marriage was to- Miss Grace Davidson, and Gilbert 
H. married Miss Daisy Allen. Minnie H., the daughter of our subject, is 
attending the Sarcoxie high school. 

The firm of James B. Wild & Brothers ranks high in financial circles, 
all of its members being stockholders in the State Bank of Sarcoxie, while 
the personal integrity and responsibility of each one is above question. James 
B. Wild is a highly esteemed citizen of this cty, has long been a member of 
the I. O. O. F. and of the Patrons of Husbandry, and was one of the first 
delegates to the first convention of the latter order in the county. He is 
proud of the fact that he was a delegate to the first silver convention, held 
at Pertle Springs, Missouri, when the state first took a decisive sand in favor 
of free silver. 

"* AMOS H. CAFFEE, M. D. 

If those who claim that fortune has favored certain individuals above 
others will but investigate the cause of success and failure, it will be found that 
the former is largely due to the improvement of opportunity, the latter to the 
neglect of it. Fortunate environments encompass nearly every man at some 
stage in his career, but the strong man and the successful man is he who real- 
izes that the proper moment has come, that the present and not the future holds 
his opportunity. The man who makes use of the Now and not the To Be is the 
one who passes on the highway of life others who started out ahead of him, 
and reaches the goal of prosperity far in advance of them. It is this quality in 
Dr. Caffee that has made him a leader in the business world and won him an 
enviable name in connection with professional and commercial interests that is 
widely known. 

Dr. Caffee was born in Newark, Ohio, in 1834, and is a son of M. M. and 
Elizabeth (Warden) Caffee, the former a native of Pennsylvania, the latter 
of Virginia. For a number of years the parents resided in Ohio and there the 
Doctor was reared and educated. After the completion of his literary course 




AMOS H. OAFFEE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 95 

he began preparation for the practice of medicine as a student in the office and 
under the direction of Dr. J. N. Wilson, of Newark, and subsequently he 
attended lectures in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

The Doctor first came to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1857, but did not 
locate permanently until 1859. In the spring of that year he began the prac- 
tice of medicine in the western part of Jasper county, where he remained until 
after the inauguration of the Civil war. After the battle of Pea Ridge he 
went to Cassville, Missouri, where he served as assistant surgeon in the hos- 
pital. At the organization of the First Arkansas Cavalry Regiment he was 
commissioned its assistant surgeon and continued to act in that capacity until 
January, 1864, when he was transferred to the general hospital at Fort 
Smith. In the spring of 1864 he was promoted to surgeon of the Thirteenth 
Kansas Infantry, and thus remained until the close of the war, being mustered 
out at Fort Leavenworth, in July, 1865. 

In the autumn of the same year Dr. Caffee returned to Jasper county 
and has since been continuously connected with its professional and commer- 
cial interests, his efforts being an important factor in the material development 
and progress of this portion of the state. In the spring of 1866, in company 
with J. W. Young, he established the first drug store in Jasper county. He 
continued in the active practice of medicine until 1870, when he abandoned that 
vocation, and, purchasing the interest of his partner in the drug store, has since 
conducted the business, having one of the finest and best equipped establish- 
ments of the kind in this portion of the state. In 1898 he organized the Caffee 
Drug Company, of Joplin, and embarked in the wholesale drug business, erect- 
ing and occupying a fine building, fifty by one hundred and twenty feet, and 
two stories in height. It is devoted exclusively to the wholesale drug busi- 
ness, which is constantly growing in volume and importance and has already 
assumed considerable magnitude. Several traveling salesmen represent the 
house upon the road, selling to the trade' in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and 
Oklahoma and Indian Territories. 

Dr. Caffee is a man of resourceful business ability, determined and ener- 
getic, and his efforts have not been confined alone to one line of commercial 
endeavor. In 1890 he was one of the organizers of the Central National Bank 
of Carthage, and upon its establishment he was chosen president, which re- 
sponsible position he has occupied continuously since. A general banking busi- 
ness is carried on, and under the able supervision of the president the bank has 
won a high reputation for reliability that has led to a constantly increasing 

6 



96 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

business. He is also the owner of a large amount of valuable real estate in 
the city, having made judicious investments in property. 

On the 2 1 st of May, 1867, the Doctor was united in marriage to Miss 
Lacie A. Burham, of Washington, Iowa, and unto them have been born four 
daughters and one son, namely: Edna C, the wife of W. H. S. Brown, a 
pharmacist of Carthage; Jessie, who married J. P. Newell, a real estate dealer 
of Carthage; Flora C, Amos H. and Lacie B. The Doctor is a very prominent 
Mason, belonging to the Masonic lodge and chapter, and to Jasper Command- 
ery, K. T., all of Carthage. He takes a deep and abiding interest in everything 
pertaining to the welfare of his adopted city and county, and his devotion to 
the general good has been recognized by election to office. He has twice been 
chosen mayor of the city of Carthage, and in 1880 he was elected county treas- 
urer. He indeed deserves mention among Jasper county's most prominent 
merchants and among her representative citizens, and should find a place in 
the history of the men of business and enterprise in the great west whose force 
of character, sterling integrity, control of circumstances and whose marked 
success in establishing great industries have contributed in such an eminent 
•degree to the solidity and progress of the entire country. His life has been 
manly, his actions sincere, his manner unaffected and his example is well 
worthy of emulation. 

HON. CORNELIUS ROACH. 

Among the prominent politicians and influential citizens of southwest 
Missouri is Hon. Cornelius Roach, the editor and publisher of the "J as P er 
County Democrat," which is the leading organ of the party in this portion 
of the state. 

The birth of Mr. Roach was in Jersey county, Illinois. His early life 
was spent on a farm, and his education was secured in the public schools and 
later the colleges of St. Louis, at which he graduated in 1881. The suc- 
ceeding eight years were spent as an instructor in the school-room, most of 
the time as principal of the high school in Jerseyville, Illinois. 

After his marriage, in 1889, Mr. Roach moved to Carthage, Missouri, 
and in June of that year bought the "Jasper County Democrat," which has 
ever since been one of the most ably edited and most influential papers of the 
state, giving its talented editor and proprietor prominence in the Southwest 
Missouri Press Association, the Missouri State Press Association and the 
National Editorial Association. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 97 

Mr. Roach soon became a power in Democratic circles, was made sec- 
retary of the county committee, chairman of the congressional committee, and 
in 1893 he was elected secretary of the Missouri State Senate, re-elected in 
1895, again in 1897 and still again in 1899 an d in 1901. For ten consecutive 
years he served in this capacity, breaking all records, and displaying the good 
judgment and discretion which so prominent a position demands. In 1900 
Mr. Roach was honored by Governor Stephens with an appointment as a 
member of the Missouri Pan-American Commission. 

Mr. Roach is socially prominent also, being a valued member of the 
fraternal orders K. of P., M. W. of A. and the B. P. O. E., taking an active 
interest in them all. 

v JOEL T. LIVINGSTON. 

Joel T. Livingston, ex-city attorney of Joplin, was born in Lawrence, 
Kansas, in 1867. His father, Chancellor Livingston, was a native of the 
Empire state, his birth having occurred there in 1830. During his childhood 
he was taken to Ohio, where he was reared, and later became prominently 
identified with business interests and public affairs in Kansas. He engaged 
in dealing in stock in Lawrence, carrying on a large and profitable business. 
During the Civil war he was a victim of the Ouantrell raid. His property 
was destroyed by that band of men and he was shot, from the effects of which 
he never fully recovered. In 1876 he came to Joplin, and in many ways left 
the impress of his individuality for good upon the public affairs of the city. 
In 1887 he was elected mayor and served for eighteen months, his adminis- 
tration being business-like and progressive. He was also a member of the 
city council at one time, and in 1884 was a candidate on the Greenback- 
Republican ticket for the state legislature and two years later for the position 
of judge of the western district of the county court. He ever discharged 
his public duties with promptness and fidelity, and his worth as a valued citizen 
was widely acknowledged. His death occurred in 1892, when he was sixty- 
two years of age, and a large circle of acquaintances mourned his loss. His 
wife bore the maiden name of Mary A. Lutes, and was a native of Luzerne 
county, Pennsylvania, living in the Wyoming valley, where occurred the ter- 
rible Indian massacre at the time of the Revolutionary war. 

In taking up the personal history of Joel T. Livingston we present to our 
readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in Joplin 
and Jasper county, for he was only nine years of age when he was brought 



93 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

by his parents to this locality, which % has since been his home. After com- 
pleting the public-school course he entered Drury College, at Springfield, 
Missouri, and thus gained a broad general knowledge to serve as a foundation 
upon which to rear the superstructure of his professional learning. He 
engaged in teaching school for some time before entering upon the practice 
of law, being principal of the Franklin school of Joplin for six years. An 
able educator, he won prominence in the ranks of that profession by reason of 
his marked ability , which was manifest through the progress made by those 
who came under his instruction. Going to Washington, D. C, he completed 
his law course in Columbia Law College, and in 1896 was admitted to the bar 
in Missouri. He is well versed in the principles of jurisprudence and his 
careful preparation of his cases and his devotion to his clients' interests are 
proverbial. In 1897 he was elected city attorney of Joplin for a term of 
two years, and discharged his duties so capably that he was re-elected in 1899 
for a second term. His first political affiliations were with the Republican 
party, but being an advocate of the free coinage of silver he cast his lot with 
the Democratic party in 1896. 

Mr. Livingston is quite prominent in military circles, is well versed in 
military tactics and manouvers, and for several years has been a member of 
the Missouri National Guard. In 1893 he joined the Second Regiment and 
was made captain of Company G. He had a splendidly drilled organization 
and enjoyed the respect and high regard of his men. He also organized in 
the schools of Joplin a cadet corps, which was so well drilled that it was 
highly complimented by Governor David R. Francis on the occasion of a 
visit to Joplin in 1892. Mr. Livingston has recently been appointed lieu- 
tenant colonel on the staff of Governor Dockery. Socially he is connected 
with the Modern Woodmen of America and with the Masonic order, being 
a member of Joplin Lodge, No. 335, A. F. & A. M., of which he is master. 
He is also a member of the chapter and Joplin Commandery, K. T. He is 
past chancellor of Joplin Lodge, No. 40, K. P., in which he has served as a 
representative to the grand lodge on three occasions. He is an attendant on 
the services of the Presbyterian church, and has been a member of the choir 
here and also in Washington, having considerable musical talent, which makes 
him a valued factor in musical circles. He belongs to> the Young Men's 
Christian x\ssociation and takes an active interest in furthering its work. 

On the 4th of June, 1901, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Livings- 
ton and Miss Lenora Henley, a granddaughter of J. A. Shepherd, one of the 
old, influential and highly respected citizens of Joplin. Mrs. Livingston is 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 99 

a beautiful and accomplished lady, being a petite blonde with decidedly lit- 
erary turn of mind. She is an active member of the Presbyterian church 
and a club woman. She is a social favorite and adds materially to Mr. 
Livingston's popularity. Mr. Livingston is a young man of strong char- 
acter and forceful individuality, of laudable ambition, enterprise and energy 
and of high ideals and principles, and in his profession will no doubt win 
promotion and success, and at the same time will ever command the esteem 
and regard oi those with whom he is associated. 



J 



AMERICUS O. McMICHAEL, M. D. 



In the subject of this review we have one who has attained distinction in 
the line of his profession, who has been an earnest and discriminating student 
and who holds a position of due relative precedence among the medical prac- 
titioners of southwestern Missouri. He located in Joplin in March, 1899, 
and his practice has continually grown until it has some time since passed the 
confines of the city and oi the county as well, — a fact indicative of his 
superior ability, for people do not risk their most cherished possession — life — 
in the hands of the incompetent. 

Dr. McMichael is a native of Des Moines, Iowa, and' traces his ancestry 
back to good old Revolutionary stock, for his great-grandfather, Lieutenant 
McMichael. was a member of the Colonial army and participated in the hotly 
contested engagement at Brandy wine. His grandmother McMichael' s peo- 
ple were also represented in the war of the Revolution. Mathew Rankin 
McMichael, the Doctor's father, was a native of Hancock county, Pennsyl- 
vania, and for a time resided at Canton, Ohio, whence he went to Iowa, 
becoming one of the early settlers of Des Moines, where he carried on agri- 
cultural pursuits. He wedded Margaret A. Swearse. 

Their son. Dr. McMichael, spent his boyhood days under the parental 
roof and acquired his early education in the schools of Des Moines, after 
which he entered Drake University of that city, and was there graduated. 
His choice of a life work fell upon the medical profession, and as a prepara- 
tion for the calling he matriculated in the Iowa College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons, a department of Drake University. He also pursued a course in 
pharmacy and for twelve years was engaged in the drug business in Des 
Moines, meeting with gratifying success in the undertaking. He was also 
lecturer in the College of Pharmacy of Drake University for two years. He 
has also taken post-graduate work in six clinical schools in New York city 

La 



ioo BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

and in the Chicago Eye, Ear and Throat Post-Graduate School, of Chicago, 
and has ever kept in touch with the progress that is continually being made as 
investigation and study reveals new truths in connection with the human 
system and its care. Since coming to Joplin he has built up a practice second 
to none. It extends to all portions of Jasper county and even beyond its 
borders, for his fame as a most skilled practitioner has spread abroad. 

The Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Louisa, daughter of H. C. 
Huttenlocker, a native of Germany and an early settler of Des Moines, where 
Mrs. McMichael spent her girlhood days. They now have two children, 
Alma and Horace. The Doctor is a valued representative of several civic 
societies, including the Masonic, the Knights of Pythias and the Independent 
Oder of Odd Fellows, and in his life he exemplifies their beneficent spirit. The 
success which attends his efforts is but a natural sequence, for his position 
soon became assured as an able physician, a man of sterling integrity and 
one devoted to his profession and to the interests and welfare of those to 
whom he ministers. He possesses marked judgment and discernment in 
diagnosing disease ; is a physician of great fraternal delicacy, and no man 
ever more closely observed the ethics of the unwritten professional code or 
showed more careful courtesy to his fellow practitioners than Dr. McMichael. 



y 



LYNN MONROE. 



Among the well known and successful business citizens of Jasper, Jasper 
county, Missouri, is Lynn Monroe, the capable and popular editor and pro- 
prietor of the newsy little sheet read by the citizens o<f Jasper which is known 
as the "Jasper News." Mr. Monroe was born in Bloomsburg, Columbia 
county, Pennsylvania, on February 26, 187 1, and was a son of A. W. Monroe, 
who came to Jasper county in 1878, locating in Carthage, where he still lives. 
The mother of our subject was Miss Emma Leggett, also a native of Penn- 
sylvania, who died in Carthage in 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Monroe had a family 
of four sons and one daughter, and of this family our subject was the sec- 
ond child. 

Lynn Monroe had reached the age of seven years when his parents came 
to Missouri, and he was educated in the schools of Carthage. Early in life 
his tastes led him into the printing offices, and at the age of seventeen he 
decided to learn the business of printing, and with that end in view he entered 
the office of the Carthage "Evening Press," where he continued for ten years. 
In 1898 he came to Jasper and- established the "Jasper News," in connection 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 101 

with a very complete job printing office, and has met with most encouraging" 
success. His subscription list reaches the encouraging number of five hun- 
dred subscribers and the paper has become a necessity to the public of Jasper. 
As Mr. Monroe is an independent in politics, he is able to reach both parties 
and aims also to make his journal suitable for home reading. The local 
news is carefully collected and presented in a clear and concise manner. 

Mr. Monroe was married in 1896, in Carthage, to Miss Elizabeth Dabney, 
a daughter of I. W. Dabney, a native of Iowa, and two children have been 
born of this union : Harold and Arthur. For a number of years he has 
been a. consistent member of the Methodist church and is the efficient super- 
intendent of the Sunday-school. Socially he is a member of the Modern' 
Woodmen, in which organization he takes an active part, and is well known 
and highly respected through Jasper county. 



/ 



LEVI RISELING. 



Good deeds culminate in a good name and a good name is a better 
inheritance than money. This thought is suggested by a consideration of the 
career of the late Levi Riseling, who was known and honored as one of the 
prominent citizens of Jasper county, Missouri. Mr. Riseling was born in 
Bedford county, Pennsylvania, December 18, 1837, a son of Henry and Eliza- 
beth (Sibbets) Riseling, and died January 12, 1900. Henry Riseling, born 
in Germany. November 16, 1800, came to America from Riseling-on-the- 
Rhine and married Elizabeth Sibbets, who was born in Somerset county, 
Pennsylvania, in March, 1812. 

Levi Riseling was reared on his father's farm and given a good education, 
and at the age of nineteen years he went to De Soto, Jackson county, Illinois, 
and engaged in cabinet-making. He was thus employed until August. 1862, 
when he enlisted in Company K, Seventy-third Regiment, Illinois Infantry, 
with which organization he saw three months' active experience in the Civil 
war. He was honorably discharged at Louisville, Kentucky, and returning 
to his old home he resumed the manufacture of furniture and soon developed 
a promising wholesale and retail business in that line. In April. 1S68, he 
located at Baxter Springs, Kansas, where as a member of the firm of Benoist 
& Riseling, in which Joseph Benoist was his partner, he engaged in the 
furniture and house-furnishing business. In 1873 the firm removed its enter- 
prise to Joplin, Missouri, and in 1875 Mr. Riseling purchased Mr. Benoist's 
interest therein. Soon Mr. Riseling added a stock of hardware, the first in 



io2 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

the town, and with that, his furniture and the undertaking department of his 
enterprise, practically with no competition, he did a large and profitable busi- 
ness, which he continued until 1888. He built four business blocks in the 
city, whch are now owned by his estate, and a large number of dwellings. 
His homestead consists of forty acres, of line land, neatly laid out and orna- 
mented, and a commodious brick house, in which his widow resides. His 
estate is the owner also of a large acreage of excellent mining and farming 
lands, located in different parts of Missouri and Kansas, principally in Jasper 
county. Missouri, and Cherokee county, Kansas. He invested extensively in 
mining at Galena, Kansas, and organized the Galena Lead & Zinc Company, 
whose mine turned out well and is still a good producer. He was a large 
stockholder also in the Windsor Mining Company, of Galena, Kansas, which 
controls much valuable mineral land. He was conservative in his ideas and 
methods and devoted himself strictly to business, refusing public office several 
times because of the demands upon him of his own private affairs, and he 
was quiet and unostentatious to a remarkable degree, and his integrity was 
of so high a quality that it was often said of him that his word was as good 
as his bond, — a saying trite, perhaps, but as applied to him literally true. 

Some time after Mr. Riseling took up his residence at Baxter Springs, 
Kansas, he married Miss Mattie Hybarger, daughter of David H. Hybarger, 
of Cherokee county, Kansas. Mrs. Riseling's mother, who died in 1890, 
at the age of seventy-two years, was Miss Linverba Hinton, daughter of 
William Hinton, who removed from Kentucky to Indiana. Levi and Mattie 
(Hybarger) Riseling had children as follows: Lizzie, who married W. F. 
Halyard, secretary and treasurer of the Halyard Hardware Company of 
Joplin, Missouri; Will H., who was educated at St. Louis and is now a resi- 
dent of Joplin, married Miss Nellie Talbott, of Carthage, Missouri, and they 
have one child, Harold; Edward, who is represented by a biographical sketch 
in this work; and Ina. who is a member of her mother's household. 

Mr. Riseling was a thirty-second-degree Mason and a member of the 
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Mrs. Riseling is 
a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church. 



/ 



SILAS A. STUCKEY. 



On the roster of county officials in Jasper county appears the name of 
Silas A. Stuckey, snd no higher testimonial of his faithful and efficient 
service can be given than a statement of the fact that he has been re-elected 




w= 



/ 




BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 105 

for a second term of four years, so that his incumbency will continue until 
1903. He was born in Bedford, Pennsylvania, December 16, 1850, a son of 
Richard S. and Martha J. ( McVictor) Stuckey, both of whom were also 
natives of Bedford. The father was a farmer by occupation, and his father 
was one of the pioneer settlers of Bedford. He became very prominent in 
military circles there and was known as Major Stuckey, being for a long 
period connected with the militia of Pennsylvania with official rank. He 
married a Miss Silvers, of Pennsylvania, whose ancestors came to this coun- 
try with the Penn colony. After engaging in the cultivation of his farm 
in Pennsylvania for a number of years Richard S. Stuckey brought his fam- 
ily to the Mississippi valley, locating in Knox county, Illinois, where he re- 
sided until 1867, at which time he came to Jasper county, Missouri, settling 
near Twin Grove upon a new farm. He improved the land, transforming 
it into richly cultivated fields, and upon that place both he and his wife spent 
their remaining days. 

Silas A. Stuckey was only two years of age when his parents went to 
Illinois, where he was reared until his sixteenth year. He began his edu- 
cation in the common schools, later attended a high school and fhen sup- 
plemented that course by study in a normal school. After coming to Jasper 
county he pursued a four-months' course of study, and for seven years en- 
gaged in teaching through the winter months, proving a capable educator. 
On the expiration of that period he embarked in business, engaging in mer- 
chandising. After four years, however, he abandoned commercial pursuits 
to engage in zinc and lead mining, which he has followed successfully in the 
vicinity of Joplin. He is at present financially interested in the Duenweg 
mine and also the Lehigh mine, both in Jasper county. Mining has become 
one of the leading industries of this portion of the state, and the develop- 
ment of the rich mineral resources of southwestern Missouri contributes not 
alone to the individual prosperity of the stockholders but also to the general 
success and welfare. Mr. Stuckey also aided in organizing the Carl Junc- 
tion Bank, and was its first vice-president, but after a time disposed of his 
stock in the enterprise. 

On Christmas day of 1873 Mr. Stuckey was married to Miss Sarah J. 
Jackson, a daughter of Joel Jackson, a prominent pioneer settler who located 
in Jasper county in 1840. ' He wedded Mary Secrest, who became a resident 
of the county in 1849. Five children, now living, have been born unto Mr. 
and Mrs. Stuckey : Pearl, Mary Josephine, Anna Fern, Georgia Gertrude and 
Eugenia; and three, David Perry, Artemus Jackson and Lena, died in in- 



106 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

fancy; and the first named is now assisting her father in the office. In his 
political views Mr. Stnckey is a stanch Republican, and takes an active in- 
terest in party work. In 1894 he was the nominee for the position of county 
clerk, and after being elected and serving for four years he was again chosen 
to the office by popular ballot, so that he is now serving for the second term. 
He is a man of strong purpose, of decided views and of unquestioned in- 
tegrity, and his upright life has not only been crowned by business success 
but has also gained for him the unqualified respect and confidence of his fel- 
low men. 

WILLIAM DICK. 

Prominent among the old settlers of Jasper county is William Dick, 
who resides on section 2 in Duval township, who was born in Leslie, Fifeshire, 
Scotland, on January 26, 1850, and was a son of John and Margaret (Kay) 
Dick. The parents came to America in 1866, and the father died in i868 r 
but the mother is still living, at the age of eighty-one years. They had a 
family of nine children, all of whom survive with the exception of two. 

William Dick received a superior education in Scotland and London, 
England, and became a bookkeeper in an importing and exporting house, and 
came to America with his parents in 1866. The first two years of the family 
sojourn in the United States were spent in St. Charles county, Missouri, but 
then removal was made to Jasper county, where location was made on a farm 
near Medoc. Here Mr. Dick engaged in farming and also followed his trade 
of stonemason. In 1879 ne located on the farm where he now resides, and 
since that time has been engaged in its cultivation and development. It con- 
sists of one hundred and sixty-five acres and is known throughout the 
locality as one of the best stock farms in the vicinity. 

Mr. Dick was married, in Jasper county, in 1879, to Miss Anna McCann, 
a sister of A. McCann, whose sketch appears in another part of this volume. 
She was born near Belfast, Ireland, and came to America prior to the Civil 
war. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Dick : Mary, who has 
attended normal school and is now a teacher ; and Alexander, at home. 

Politically Mr. Dick is connected witn the Republican party and has been 
prominently identified with county affairs. For many years he has been 
one of the leading members of the Methodist church and has always taken a 
deep interest in educational and religious advancement in Jasper county. The 
family is one that is highly esteemed and Mr. Dick is one of the real repre- 
sentative men of this prosperous part of the state. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 107 

* EDWARD RISELING. 

Edward Riseling, of Joplin, Jasper county, Missouri, son of the late 
Levi Riseling, a biographical sketch of whom appears in this work, was born 
in Joplin in 1878. He secured his primary education in the high schools of 
his native city and in 1893 was graduated at an educational institution of St. 
Louis, Missouri. He was long connected with the business of the Joplin 
Hardware Supply Company and since the death of his father he has given 
some attention to mining. He married Miss Nannie Brillhart, of Joplin, 
and has a daughter named Mildred. He is a member of the Improved Order 
of Red Men, also the Eagles, and is well and widely known in business circles. 

^ JOHN H. MILLS. 

Comparatively speaking, the mining interests at and near Webb City,, 
Jasper county, Missouri, are of recent development, and to say that a man 
has been identified with them for a quarter of a century is to give him deserved 
place among pioneers in his land. John H. Mills, mine operator and one of 
the owners of the Pedagogue mine, on the Rex land, came to Jasper county 
in November, 1872, and has been mining for twenty-five years, during which 
time he has lived at Webb City. He has operated most of the time on his 
own account. He opened the Big Four mine in South Carterville, one of the 
most productive in the district, out of which he took thirty thousand dollars'" 
worth of ore, the Birch mines at Carterville, the Mills and Schaffer mines on 
the Center Creek land at Webb City, where the first deep digging on Center 
creek was done, and other valuable and important properties. He has been 
superintendent for the July Mining Company at Carthage, and of the Maloney 
mine at Carterville, one of the largest mines in the southwest, and of a number 
c f other productive mines in the district. 

John H. Mills was born in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, and at the age 
of seven years went with his father, George P. Mills, to Nebraska, where he 
was reared and educated. In 1872 he accompanied his father to Jasper county, 
where the latter is living at the age of seventy-six years. George P. Mills 
had mined a good deal in the district and was identified with the Mills and 
Schaffer mines and with the Gammom mines, and has long been one of the 
best known citizens of Jasper county. His good wife, who is now living at 
the age of seventy-two years, was in her maidenhood Mathilda Tucker, and 
was born in Chenango county. New York, where her parents were among the 



ioS BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

early settlers and where her brothers have been prominent among politicians 
and as bankers. John II. Mills is the only son of his parents. He has a 
sister, Mrs. Ella Sigler, the wife of the Hon. Albert Sigler, of Carthage, 
ex-county recorder of Jasper county. Another sister, Frances, is the wife of 
John Young, a well-to-do blacksmith of Joplin. 

John H. Mills married Mary C. Smith, daughter of James C. Smith, 
c f Walnut, Crawford county, Kansas, by whom he has children named as 
follows : Mathilda, Alice, Albert, Mary, Rachel and James. Albert, who is 
only seventeen years old, fills the responsible position of machinist at the Webb 
City Separating Works. In 1890 Mr. Mills filled the office of councilman of 
Webb City, to which he was elected by the combined vote of the Democrats 
and the Populists. A man of good ability, he brings to bear upon any task 
which he undertakes a mind well trained, well balanced and of good judicial 
quality, and fulfills all obligations without fear or favor and with regard only 
to the question of right or wrong. His public spirit is such that he is always 
found among those who seek the advancement of the best interests of the town 
and county. As a mine prospector and operator he has had such a long and 
varied experience in this field that his opinion is always sought upon ques- 
tions of doubt or in dispute, and his decision when given is usually regarded 
as final. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, and personally is very 
popular in a wide circle of acquaintances. 

STEPHEN J. CHITWOOD. 

Among the native sons of Missouri identified with the official interests 
of Jasper county is Stephen J. Chitwood, of Carthage, who is now serving as 
deputy county clerk. He was born near Mount Vernon, in Lawrence county, 
April 27, 1872, a son of Stephen D. and Susan (Johnson) Chitwood. The 
father, a native of Illinois, was born in 1844, while the mother's birth occurred 
in Jasper county, Missouri, in 1848. The paternal grandparents of our sub- 
ject were Stephen and Sarah (Hodges) Chitwood, natives of Tennessee, and 
after their marriage they removed to Texas. The maternal grandparents, 
Peter A. and Mary (Maxey) Johnson, were pioneer settlers of Jasper county. 
The grandparents have passed away, but both the father and mother of our 
subject are yet living. 

Stephen J. Chitwood, whose name introduces this record, spent his youth 
at Carl Junction, where he attended the village school, later supplementing his 
preliminary course by study in the Gem City Business College, at Quincy, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 109 

Illinois, where he was graduated on the 13th of July, 1892. Subsequently 
he pursued a course in the Shorthand Business College at Joplin, Missouri, 
completing- the same on the 30th of June, 1893. He took a special examina- 
tion at the Gem City Business College and received the degree of master of 
accounts December 24, 1893. He then became an instructor in the Joplin 
Business College and engaged in teaching throughout the year 1894. On 
the 7th of January, 1895, he was appointed to the position of deputy county 
clerk under S. A. Stuckey, and has since continued to act in that capacity. He 
has also devoted considerable time to lead and zinc mining, and is interested 
in some of Jasper county's best mines. 

On the 24th of December, 1898, Mr. Chitwood was united in marriage 
to Miss Laura Caudle, of Carthage, a daughter of John S. Caudle, and unto 
them have been born two daughters, Laura Marie and Clara May. Socially 
Mr. Chitwood is connected with several fraternal organizations, including the 
Modern Woodmen of America. He has a wide acquaintance in Jasper county 
and is held m high regard, owing to his strong mentality, his ability as an edu- 
cator and his efficiency in public office. 

J CARL OWEN. 

Carl Owen, superintendent of the Barnes mine, is descended from an 
ancestry honorable and distinguished, who trace their lineage back for two 
hundred years, in Kentucky and Virginia. His father, James L. Owen, came 
from Crittenden county, Kentucky, to Jasper county, Missouri, where he is 
still engaged in mining operations. The mother of our subject, who bore 
the maiden name of Nannie Bennett, was a native also of Crittenden county, 
Kentucky. 

Carl Owen, whose name introduces this review, came with his parents 
to Joplin, Jasper county, Missouri, in 1876. After completing his education 
lie began work in the mines, in 1885, when sixteen years of age, and has since 
followed the occupation of a mine operator, working principally on his own 
account. His brother William is also engaged in the same vocation, and is 
now serving as ground foreman at the Barnes mine. 

He was united in marriage with Miss Josie Walters, a native of Newton 
county. Missouri, and a daughter 'of John Walters, who follows farming four 
miles south of Racine, Missouri. He is an active worker in the ranks of the 
Republican party, and is a prominent and well-known citizen of his locality. 
Mr. and Mrs. Owen have two children, — Mabel and John. Mr. Owen is a 



no BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

firm believer in the principles of socialism, and on its ticket was a candidate 
for the office of city collector of Joplin in 1901. In his social relations he is 
h. member of the Modern Woodmen and the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen. 

WILLIAM C. COOLLY. 

Among the early settlers of Jasper county, Missouri, who came with his 
little family to this locality in 1839, was Samuel M. Cooley, who was born 
in Pennsylvania, but who became a resident of Indiana when a young man. 
There he married the daughter of a neighbor, Margaret Rusk by name, and 
a few years later she accompanied him to* the new home. Her death occurred 
when she was about forty years of age, and her husband survived her for sev- 
eral years. He located near Smithfield, in Twin Grove township, taking up 
government land. At that early day the county was not yet laid out, and Sam- 
uel M. Cooley was one of those selected to assist in the laying out of the town- 
ships. In all of the matters pertaining to the progress and advancement of 
the county and the township his clear judgment and sensible ideas were of 
great value. In that pioneer home he and wife reared a family of ten chil- 
dren, eight of whom grew to maturity and three of whom still survive. 

William C. Cooley, the subject of this review, was born in Montgomery 
county, Indiana, June 31, 1835, and was about four years of age when his par- 
ents came to make their home in the wild districts of Jasper county. One of 
the first ouildings erected by these early settlers was the school-house, and in 
one of these primitive log cabins, where the benches were made of split logs and 
the huge fireplace extended across one whole side, our subject acquired his edu- 
cation. At the age of fourteen years he was left an orphan, and from that 
time he was the arbiter of his own fortunes. Reared to toil, he soon became 
an acceptable assistant on neighboring farms, receiving for his first labor the 
sum of seven dollars a month, and until he was nineteen years old he was only 
able to make fifteen dollars a month. 

In i860 Mr. Cooley was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Jackson, 
who was born in Jasper county, Missouri, and had been his playmate and com- 
panion from childhood. Her family was also one of the pioneer ones in the 
county. Five children were born of this marriage: Alfred and Walter died 
in infancy ; Alice is the wife of John Manlove, and they reside on Mr. Cooley's 
farm ; Isabel is the wife of H. L. Bryan, and they live on a part of the farm ; 
and William also< farms on a portion of the home land. All of their children 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. in 

are conveniently located near their father. Mr. Cooley lost his wife twenty 
years ago. 

In i860, after his marriage, Mr. Cooley settled in Twin Grove township, 
but when the war troubles arose the next year the family removed to Fort 
Scott, Kansas. Seven times they went back to the old home, but political 
feeling was so high at that time that they did not remain there until the eighth 
return. Mr. Cooley has been located on his present farm for about sixteen 
years, and owns five hundred acres of fine land, some of which is rich in min- 
eral deposit and has been found to produce fine ore. 

Mr. Cooley has always been a Democrat in his political convictions, and 
has served the township as collector. He will always support the party while 
it advocates free coinage of silver. He is one of the most respected citizens 
of Jasper county, and has witnessed and taken part in the wonderful develop- 
ment which sixty years have produced in this locality. He has recently trav- 
eled through Kansas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah 
and Colorado, but says he saw no country to compare with Jasper county, 
Missouri, and returned entirely contented to make his home here. 

EMIL CARLSON. 

Almost every country on the face of the globe has sent its representatives 
to become a part of the citizenship of the great American republic, but no land 
has given us a more industrious, reliable and enterprising class of men than 
has the kingdom of Sweden, whence comes Emil Carlson, now a leading and 
successful farmer of Twin Grove township, Jasper county, Missouri, his home 
being on section 30, where he owns and cultivates eighty acres of land. Mr. 
Carlson was born in Sweden December 13, 1856, and was reared and educated 
in that country. He was trained to habits of industry, economy and honesty, 
and these have proven important factors in his prosperous career in later life. 
He lived with his father until twenty-seven years of age, and then, hoping to 
better his financial condition in the new world, he crossed the Atlantic to New 
York city, whence he made his way directly to Jasper county, Missouri. Be- 
fore leaving the land of his nativity he had married Miss Alma Bralean, also 
a native of Sweden. She has proved an able assistant and helpmate to her 
husband, and for more than a quarter of a century they have traveled life's 
journey together. 

On reaching this county Mr. Carlson took up his abode upon rented land 
which belonged to James Lewis, and there resided for three years, after which 



ii2 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

he settled on land that was the property of Mr. Pornston. He thus engaged 
in the cultivation of the fields until his industry, economy and good manage- 
ment enabled him to purchase land of his own, when he secured the tract of 
eighty acres upon which he now resides. He carries on general farming and 
stock-raising, and his fields are now under a high state of cultivation, while in 
his pastures and barns are found good grades of horses and cattle. He has 
a fine barn, which he erected, and other substantial improvements and modern 
accessories which indicate the owner to be a man of progressive spirit, of prac- 
tical industry and one who manages his property with commendable care. 
Both he and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and in his political views he is a stanch Republican. He is widely and favora- 
bly known throughout the community, and his sterling traits of character 
are such as commend him to the confidence and regard of all with whom he 
comes in contact. 

JOHN W. HALLIBURTON. 

John W. Halliburton was born at Linneus, Linn county, Missouri, De- 
cember 30, 1846, and has spent his entire life in his native state, his father, 
Judge Westley Halliburton, having been one of the pioneers of Missouri. 
The son attended the public and private schools of Linneus, Milan and 
Brunswick, this state, until the fall of 1863, and during the periods of va- 
cation worked on his father's farm and in a printing office, also clerked in 
his father's and brother's store. In the fall of 1863 he entered Mount Pleas- 
ant College, at Huntsville, Missouri, where he continued his studies until 
October, 1864, when the school was disbanded on account of Price's raid 
through the state and the trouble it caused, and, returning to Brunswick, he 
enlisted in the Confederate army as a member of the company commanded 
by Captain James Kennedy. This was attached to Searcy's Regiment and 
Tyler's Brigade until January, 1865. Mr. Halliburton was then transferred 
to I. N. Sitton's Company, Williams' Regiment, Jackman's Brigade and 
Shelby's Division. He participated in the battle of Mine Creek, and in June, 
3865, received an honorable discharge from General Shelby at Corsicana, 
Texas. In July following he started for Mexico with a relative, arriving 
at Chihuahua in November. 

After spending the winter there as a clerk in a dry goods store he started 
northward, March 10, 1866, receiving transportation and subsistence for his 
services as a guard. He arrived at San Antonio, Texas, with only two dol- 




JOHH W. HALLIBURTON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 115 

lars in his pocket, and from there worked his way to Missouri by driving 
and herding stock, reaching St. Louis in the month of August. From that 
time until September, 1867, he managed a general store for his father in St. 
Louis and at Bonfils Station in the same county, but he determined to aban- 
don commercial pursuits for professional life and became a law student in 
the office of the firm of DeFrance & Hooper, at Kirksville, Missouri. In 
July, 1868, he returned to St. Louis county and aided in the work of har- 
vesting and the fall planting, and during the winter of 1868-9 he was a mem- 
ber of the junior class in the St. Louis Law School. In April, 1869, he re- 
ceived a license to practice law from Judge Irwin Z. Smith, of the St. Louis 
circuit, on the recommendation of Judge E. B. Ewing, without having to 
take an examination. In May, 1869, he entered the law office of DeFrance 
& Hooper, working for that firm until January 1, 1871, for his board and 
clothes. On the dissolution of the firm he entered into partnership with the 
senior member, under the style of DeFrance & Halliburton, which connec- 
tion was maintained until November, 1874. While residing at Kirksville he 
had a large and varied practice in Adair and adjoining counties, including 
the trial of cases of almost every character, and the firm of DeFrance & 
Halliburton were also general attorneys for the Ouincy, Missouri & Pacific 
Railroad Company. 

In the spring of 1874 his father removed to Milan, Missouri, and there, 
in November, our subject joined him in a partnership, under the name of 
Halliburton & Son, this relation being maintained and a large practice en- 
joyed until April, 1877, when, desiring a broader field of labor, John W. 
Halliburton started for Texas. However, he stopped en route at Carthage 
for a visit, and, being pleased with the city and county, decided to locate 
here. On the 1st of May, 1877, he entered into partnership with Samuel 
McReynolds, and for almost a quarter of a century the firm of McReynolds 
& Halliburton, which is now the oldest legal partnership in the state, has 
maintained a leading position among the most prominent and capable law- 
yers in the entire commonwealth. Success has attended their effort? from 
the beginning, and their clientage has not only been very extensive but of a 
distinctively representative character. They are the general attorneys for the 
Southwest Missouri Electric Railway Company and the Central National 
Bank of Carthage. Their practice has largely been of a civil character in 
Jasper and adjoining counties and in the appellate and supreme courts. For 
years the firm has made a specialty of commercial business, bringing and 
prosecuting more than two hundred attachment cases, their clients never being 
7 



n6 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

mulcted for damages but in one case, and that by the supreme court over- 
ruling a former decision. The-}- never engage in criminal law practice except 
when some client and personal friend desires their services, their business 
being strictly of a civil law character. Air. Halliburton is remarkable 
among law) ers for the wide research and provident care with which he pre- 
pares his cases. In no instance has his reading ever been confined to the 
limitations at issue; it has gone beyond and compassed every contingency 
and provided not alone for the expected but for the unexpected, which hap- 
pens quite as frequently in the courts as out of them. His logical grasp of 
facts and principles and of the law applicable to them has been another 
potent element in his success, and a remarkable clearness of expression, an 
adequate and precise diction, which enables him to make others understand 
not only the salient points of his argument but his every fine gradation of 
meaning, may be accounted one of his most conspicuous gifts and accomplish- 
ments. 

In his political views Mr. Halliburton is a Democrat, being a firm be- 
liever in the principles enunciated by Jefferson and enforced by Jackson. 
W'hile he has devoted his time closely to the study and practice of law, yet 
he has made it a rule to take an active part in every campaign commencing 
in 1872. and has given his time and means liberally for the benefit of the 
party and its candidates. During the past twenty years he has been fre- 
quently sent as a delegate to the county, district and state conventions and 
has labored earnestly in behalf of his friends, never seeking office for him- 
self. Never but once has he held political office, and that was in the direct 
line of his profession, having been city attorney of Carthage from 1882 until 
1883. He was a member of the Pertle Springs convention of 1895 and a 
delegate from his district to the Democratic national convention at Chicago 
in 1896. In 1898 he was a candidate before the Democratic state conven- 
tion for judge of the supreme court, and although he did not enter the race 
until May, he received a very creditable and flattering vote. 

On the 1 6th of October, 1878, in Kirks ville, Missouri, Mr. Hallibur- 
ton was married to Miss Julia B. Ivie, and they now have four living chil- 
dren : Wesley, a law student in his father's office; John J., Louise and 
Sarah, all at home. The cause of education has ever found in Mr. Halli- 
burton a warm and enthusiastic friend, who has done all in his power for its 
advancement and feels a commendable pride in what has been accomplished 
by the schools of the state through the past twenty years. He believes, 
too, in having: a well-regulated state militia rather than a large standing 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 117 

army. He served for twenty years in the National Guard of Missouri, and 
rose from private to first lieutenant in the old Carthage Light Guard. On 
the organization of the Second Regiment he was appointed judge advocate, 
which position he filled until 1898. He was appointed a member of the 
board of managers of the Confederate Home of Missouri, in March, 1897, 
and was reappointed in March, 1901. While not a member of any relig- 
ious organization, Mr. Halliburton strongly sympathizes with the Missionary 
Baptists, and his life has been characterized by a close adherence to the 
golden rule. For twenty-eight years he has been a member of the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows and has filled the chairs in the different subordi- 
nate lodges. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of 
Elks, but whether in fraternal, political, professional or social circles he has 
always commanded the confidence and thorough respect of his fellow men. 
No political office that he might fill would add to his fame, for he has always 
displayed marked fidelity to his clients' interests, has manifested unfailing 
courtesy in his treatment of his fellow practitioners and due respect to the 
court. Professionally he has sustained the dignity of the law and socially 
he has manifested that kindly, genial intercourse with his fellow men that 
always wins friendship. 

^ WILLIAM L. GILBERT. 

One of the old settlers of Jasper county, Missouri, and the oldest miller 
within its borders, is William L. Gilbert, who is located on section 23, in Twin 
Grove township. He was born in Franklin county, Virginia, March 3, 1822. 
His grandfather was one of the patriot army that marched with Washington 
until the close of the Revolutionary war. His father was Michael Gilbert, 
who was born in England and came from England with his parents while still 
a babe. The family located in Virginia, and there Michael Gilbert grew to 
manhood and married, and in 1838 came to Callaway county, Missouri, where 
he died when about sixty-three years old. The mother of our subject was 
Elizabeth Ashworth, who was born in Virginia, and lived until she was about 
fifty years of age. These parents reared a family of nine children, eight of 
whom grew to maturity. 

William L. Gilbert was the third child and the second son born to his 
parents, and was about sixteen years old when the family moved to Callaway 
county, Missouri, and there he lived for thirty years. In 1847 ne married 
Tillitha Phillips, who was born in Missouri, although her parents were natives 



uS BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

of Tennessee. She died on July 25, 1895, the one child of this marriage dying 
in infancy. 

In 1868 Mr. Gilbert came to Jasper county and located one mile east of 
Carthage, in Madison township, where he engaged in farming until 1876, when 
he sold his farm and came to his present residence, where he owns fifty acres 
of well-cultivated and improved land. Mr. Gilbert erected a large gristmill 
cm Spring river, and has been engaged in milling ever since. His improved 
machinery makes it possible to grind any kind of grain and feed, and his flour 
is unequaled in the county. 

Although in a general way Mr. Gilbert regards himself as a member 
of the Democratic party, on several occasions he has voted with the Repub- 
licans, but he is a man of peace and believes in each one having opinions of his 
own. No one is more widely known in the county or more sincerely respected 
than William L. Gilbert. He professed religion about forty years ago, and 
has endeavored to live a Christian life ever since, being an old-school Baptist. 

ROBERT FRANKLIN DILWORTH. 

The well known citizen of Joplin township, Jasper county, Missouri, 
whose name constitutes the title of this article, is the owner of twenty acres 
of land, including a beautiful home, orchard and other attractive features ; 
bat, pleasant as are these claims to the public notice, they are surpassed by 
others in which Mr. Dilworth rightfully takes more pride than in his fine 
property, gained through his own effort and the assistance of his family. He 
is of Revolutionary stock, and his ancestors in his mother's line fought to 
secure freedom to the American colonies, and Mr. Dilworth himself had an ex- 
perience as a soldier in the Federal army in our Civil war, which was in every 
way noteworthy and creditable. 

Robert Franklin Dilworth w^as born in Putnam county, Indiana, where 
in 1862 he enlisted in the Nineteenth Indiana Light Artillery, with which he 
saw constant service until June, 1865. He fought in the Army of the Cum- 
berland under General Thomas until the fall of Atlanta, and after that event 
mider General Slocum in Georgia, participating in all important engagements 
hi which these commands took part from the battle at Perryville until the end 
of the war. In that terrible fight at Chickamauga, in which more that seven- 
teen thousand men out of thirty-eight thousand were killed, wounded and made 
prisoners, the Nineteenth Indiana Light Artillery lost heavily. In point of 
years Mr. Dilworth was little more than a boy soldier, but he shirked no dan- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 119 

ger or responsibility and asked no favors. His father, Benjamin Dihvorth, 
was a native of North Carolina, and his mother, Zirpha Wilson, was born 
near Greensboro, in that state. 

After the war Mr. Dihvorth went to Kansas, where he arrived in August, 
1865, and remained until 1874. Then he was called back to Indiana by the 
ill health of his mother, and remained in the east eleven years. He returned 
10 Kansas in 1886 and located at Caldwell. In 1888 he took up his residence 
in Joplin, Jasper count}', Missouri, where he bought a home. In 1889 he 
bought the farm already referred to, on which he has since lived. It is located 
four miles from Joplin, and Mr. Dihvorth markets his products mostly at 
Joplin and at Webb City. He has greatly improved the place, which is a valua- 
ble agricultural and horticultural property. 

In politics Mr. Dihvorth is a Democrat, and though he has never been an 
office-seeker, he has been induced to accept some offices, the responsibilities of 
which he has discharged with ability and credit. He served his fellow citizens 
m Pottawatomie county, Kansas, as a constable in 1869, and for six years he 
was school director of his district in Joplin township, and would have been re- 
elected for another term had he not positively refused to serve longer. Mr. 
Dilworth's public spirit is so well developed that his fellow townsmen know 
that they can depend upon him in any emergency in which the public welfare 
is concerned. He has been in rather poor physical condition for a long period 
of time on account of disease contracted in his country's service. He is still 
able to supervise his affairs at home, and hopes when he receives his pension 
to pass his last years in peace and plenty. 

Mr. Dihvorth married Miss Philemon M. Marcotte, who was born in 
Michigan, near Saginaw, and they have children named as follows : Clarence 
C, who is connected with his father in the market-gardening enterprise, mar- 
ried Miss Fannie Lowry, of Newton county. Missouri. Thomas Lee lives 
near his father and assists the latter in his farming operations, and married 
Elizabeth Smith, daughter of John Smith, of Joplin township. 



J 



ISAAC F. GARNER. 



The business of life insurance is one that engages the best efforts of many 
men of fine abilities and attainments. Some of the best life insurance men 
in the country find employment in the Missouri field, and well known among 
them is Isaac F. Garner, local agent for the Mutual Life Insurance Company 
of New York, at Carthage, Jasper count}-. 



120 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Isaac F. Garner was born in the territory of Arkansas September 9, 1832, 
a son of Robert C. and Mary C. (Forbis) Garner. The father was a native 
of Tennessee, born in Rutherford county in 1806, and the mother was a native 
of Kentucky, born in 1813. She was a daughter of Isaac Forbis, who was 
probably born in Virginia. In 1836 the father, Robert C. Garner, with his 
family removed to Polk county, Missouri, where he engaged in farming on 
quite an extensive scale. In 1845 tne y removed to Cape Girardeau county, 
where Mr. Garner died in 1856, and his wife in 1867. The Garners are de- 
scended from Scotch ancestry, some of whom settled early in the United States, 
notably in the Virginias. John Garner, the grandfather of our subject, was 
in the Creek and Seminole war. He married Miss Mary Carutbers, and died 
about 1830, on the eve of the family's removal to the western country. Robert 
C. and Mary C. (Forbis)) Garner had twelve children, nine of whom grew 
to years of maturity and eight are living at this time, seven in Missouri and 
one in Colfax, Illinois. 

Isaac F. Garner completed his education in Cape Girardeau county, where 
he attended private schools. In 1850 he married Miss Patience E. Bess, who 
was born and reared in Madison county, Missouri, a daughter of Henry and 
Mary Bess, natives of North Carolina. They were descended from pioneers 
who settled on Albemarle sound in 1710. 

For three years after his marriage Mr. Garner farmed during the spring, 
summer and fall, and taught school in the winters, and later gave his attention 
exclusively to farming until he entered the mercantile business at Arcadia, 
Missouri, in 1857. He lived for a time in St. Louis, removing thence to 
Franklin county, Missouri, and from Franklin county returned to St. Louis, 
where for six years he was the proprietor of a hotel. In 1874 he located at 
Cartbage and engaged in the manufacture of brick. Afterward he opened 
the first stone quarry in that vicinity, and also erected the first stone-dressing 
plant, and was also the pioneer in the lime manufacturing business at Car- 
thage. His company was known as the Carthage Marble and White Lime 
Company, and he was one of the principal partners in the concern. After he 
sold his interest in that enterprise he accepted the local agency of the Mutual 
Life Insurance Company of New York, and has been their agent for the past 
twelve years. 

Isaac F. and Patience E. (Bess) Garner have three children. Their 
daughter Angie, the eldest, married E. O. Brown, an attorney at law of Car- 
thage, Missouri. Their second daughter, Bessie, married L. Knox, of St. 
Louis. Robert W., the youngest child and only son, married Miss Margaret 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 121 

Duncan, of Pierce City, Missouri. He is an accomplished electrician, and has 
charge of the telephone system of Carthage. Mr. Garner, the subject of this 
sketch, is an old-school Democrat, and a man of influence in the councils of his 
party, but has always steadfastly refused to accept public office. His influence 
is always cast on the side of clean politics and substantial improvement, and 
he has demonstrated his public spirit so many times and in so many ways that 
his fellow citizens know that they can rely upon him to advance every move- 
ment for the public good to the extent of his ability. He has always taken a 
leading part in church work, being a life-long member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, South, and was a lay delegate to the general conference of that 
church which met in Richmond, Virginia, in May, 1886. 



y 



JAMES S. ROSS. 



Occupying the important position of mayor of Carthage, James S. Ross, 
in his wise and careful administration of the city's affairs, has won the com- 
mendation of all fair-minded citizens and has gained a new hold upon the con- 
fidence of the people among whom he has long been known as a reliable and 
enterprising business man. 

Mr. Ross is a native of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in 
Owego, T'.oga county. New York, May 3, i860, his parents being Amos and 
Emeline E. (Baker) Ross. The father, who is still living, was born in Dela- 
ware in 1828, and is a carpenter by trade. His wife was born in Xew York 
in 1833, and about 1877 the family came to Jasper county, where for a num- 
ber of yeai s the father carried on a prosperous business as a contractor and 
builder, but now he is living retired at his pleasant home in Carthage. 

James S. Ross spent his boyhood in the county of his nativity, pursued 
bis studies in the village school, and later became a student in the academy of 
that place. He afterward learned the carpenter's trade with his father, and 
when seventeen years of age he accompanied his parents on their removal to 
Carthage, where the family permanently located. A short time subsequent to 
the removal Mr. Ross was admitted to partnership by his father under the firm 
name of A. Ross & Company. Their patronage steadily grew, both in size 
and importance, and many of the fine structures of the city stand as monu- 
ments to their enterprise, skill and ability. They erected many of the best 
churches and school-houses of the city as well as fine business blocks and 
beautiful private residences. The active association of Mr. Ross with the 



122 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTS. 

building interests of the city has been of material benefit thereto, at the same 
lime bringing to him a handsome competence. 

In 1879 Mr. Ross was united in marriage to Miss Alida Shearer, of Car- 
thage, a daughter of Daniel Shearer, one of the old residents of the city. Four 
children grace this union, — James W., Frank C, Herman and Glenn. In his 
political views Mr. Ross is a stalwart Republican, and is quite prominent in 
the councils of the party, his opinions carrying considerable weight. For six 
years he served as a member of the city council, and in the spring of 1900 he 
was elected mayor of Carthage, his opponent being the Hon. Charles O. Har- 
rington, the Democratic candidate. Flis course has shown that the confidence 
reposed in him has never been betrayed. He is practical and at the same time 
progressive, and favors every movement of reform and progress. Socially he 
is a member of Carthage Lodge, I. O. O. F., also the Modern Woodmen of 
America, the Knights and Ladies of Security, Knights of Pythias and the 
Court of Honor. He is a man of genial disposition and affable manners, and 
is a keen and sagacious business man. His life is a living illustration of what 
ability, energy and force of character can accomplish, and it is to such men 
that the west owes its prosperity, its rapid progress and its advancement. 

JAMES R. TROUP. 

One of the prominent and substantial citizens of Webb City, Jasper 
county, is James R. Troup, who resides on a farm of one hundred and ninety 
acres just beyond the city limits, where he has engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits for the past sixteen years. Prior to that he owned the land upon 
which Prosperity now stands, and opened up the rich Troup mines. 

The birth of Mr. Troup occurred in Monroe, county, Missouri, and he 
was a son of Jacob and Catherine (Willis) Troup, the former of whom lo- 
cated in Monroe county in 1832. He moved there from Franklin county, 
Virginia, became widely known and universally respected, and was a leader 
in the Baptist church. His death occurred in 1864, at the age of seventy- 
seven years. The mother of our subject was a native of Franklin county, 
Virginia, but died in Missouri, when her son was sixteen years old. 

James R. Troup was reared and educated in Monroe county, Missouri, 
and there became prominent in public affairs. On May 8, 1867, he came to 
Jasper county, Missouri, and bought forty acres of land at Prosperity, which 
proved rich in mineral deposit. From his first location here Mr. Troup has 
taken an active interest in this locality and soon became identified with its 




JAMES R. TROUP. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 125 

political, religious and educational affairs. An active Democrat, he has ex- 
erted a great influence and has taken a leading position in every campaign. 
He has been connected with the Baptist church since youth, and was one of 
the founders of the Webb City Baptist College, which was established in 
1895. He has been a member of the board and its treasurer ever since, and 
has devoted time and money to it. He has also had a controlling interest 
in its faculty, and his liberality in this connection is well known. For many 
years he has been a deacon in the church and has been deeply interested in 
the work of the Sunday-school, for a long period acting as its superintend- 
ent. The college will long stand as a testimonial to his devotion to his church 
and the cause of education. The building is one of the finest in this section, 
costing forty thousand dollars, and accommodating a large number of pupils. 

Air. Troup was married in Monroe county, Missouri, to Miss Lucy Jane 
Greening, who was a daughter of James Greening, formerly of Kentucky. 
The children born to this marriage are: Emma J., of Webb City; Thomas, 
of Joplin township, engaged in farming and drilling; Oscar H., of Webb 
City; Maggie, wife of Albert Litt, in the oil business, in this city; Cora, wife 
of A. S. Kerr, a successful miner of Joplin township ; and Walter, at home 
with his father. 

Mr. Troup is a man of large means and of advanced ideas. He has 
done much to promote the interests of this section of the state, and is prob- 
ably one of the best-known and most highly esteemed citizens of Jasper 
county. 

E. J. PRATT. 

E. J. Pratt, the efficient superintendent of the motor power and chief 
engineer, at Webb City, Missouri, of the Southwest Missouri Street Railway 
Company, was born in Allegany county. New York, March 4, 1862, a son of 
Garrison and Elizabeth, (Tibbitts) Pratt. 

The education of Mr. Pratt was secured in the schools of Franklinville, 
Xew York, and later he enjoyed a short period of study in Geneseo, where he 
had an opportunity to gain instruction in mechanical engineering, but he laid 
aside his books at the age of nineteen. His first important work was with the 
Erie Railroad Company as bridge carpenter, and he remained in that line for 
four years, being considered one of the most capable and reliable men in the 
employ of that great road. In 1889 Mr. Pratt came to Joplin, Missouri, and 
engaged in mining, being fairly successful, but he was not willing to resign 
the trade m which he had put so much study ; threfore, when he was offered 



126 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

a position on the Joplin street railway, as engineer, he accepted it. In 1892 
lie was foreman of the engineering force that built the roadbed between Joplin 
and Carthage. 

In 1892, however, Mr. Pratt was given the position of mechanical engin- 
eer on the Southwest Missouri Street Railway, and has held that position ever 
since, much of the success of this enterprise being due to his efficiency. 

The marriage of Mr. Pratt was in 1888, to Miss Kate Cameron, who was 
born in Ontario, Canada, and was a daughter of Dr. Charles Cameron. One 
son, Fred Cameron, born of this union, is now a youth of twelve years and an 
apt pupil in the Webb City school. Socially Mr. Pratt is a member of Joplin 
Lodge, No. 335, A. F. & A. M., Joplin Commandery, and has also attained 
the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He likewise holds membership 
relations v\ ith the Modern Woodmen of the World. 

WILLIAM CARMANI. 

Among the experienced and well-informed miners of Missouri there are 
few who have been longer identified with mining intrests there or who in a 
general way have been more successful than William Carmani, of Joplin, Jas- 
per county, superintendent for the Perry leases, which are owned in New York. 
He has been connected with these mines for a quarter of a century, except dur- 
ing a period when he was mining in the west and in British Columbia, and has 
filled his present position as superintendent during the past two years. He has 
done a good deal of prospecting, and from 1890 to 1895 worked the Chatham 
and Tracy lease in Carterville, Jasper county. In 1885 he opened up some 
good mines at Belleville, Jasper county, notably the old Keystone mine. 

Mr. Carmani was born in Kosciusko- county, Indiana, in 1858, and re- 
mained there until he was seventeen years old. His father, now deceased, 
was an old settler in Indiana, and his widow is living at Carl Junction, Jasper 
county. Mr. Carmani was married February 19, 1901, to a native of Indiana. 

ROBERT BLAKE TYLER, M. D. 

Since 1880 Dr. Tyler has engage in the practice of medicine in Joplin and 
has won distinction as a representative of the profession, but his activity has 
not been confined alone to this line, as in public affairs he has been an important 
factor, and material progress owes its advancement largely to him. His name 
is familiar not alone to the residents of the city to whose development he has 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 127 

contributed so conspicuously, but to all who have been in the least intimately 
informed as to the history of this portion of the state. 

The Doctor was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, a son of Dr. 
Walter H. Tyler, who lived and died in that county, where he owned a large 
plantation. He was a very influential and prominent man, rook an active part 
in public work, serving as mayor of Hague and was chief magistrate for many 
years. He married Julia Breckinridge, a niece of John C. Breckinridge, and 
a representative of one of the most honored families of the south. 

In taking up the personal history of Dr. Robert B. Tyler we present to our 
readers the record of one who is widely and favorably known in southwestern 
Missouri. He pursued his education in his native state, and in 1862 he ran 
away from home in order to enlist in the United States navy, in which he 
served for two years and eight months under Rear Admiral John A. Dahl- 
green. He participated in the attacks on Fort Sumter, Moultrie and Wagner 
and the capture of Charleston, and was once wounded, but whenever possible 
was found at his post of duty, loyally performing his part in the naval service 
during the great Civil war. After the cessation of hostilities he located in 
Binghamton, New York, where he attended school, and later he engaged in 
teaching for several years. His preparation for the medical profession was 
made in the Buffalo University, of Buffalo, New York, and in that institution 
he was graduated. Subsequently he engaged in the practice of medicine in 
New York for two years, but believing that the rapidly growing west would 
furnish better opportunities for a young man, he came to Joplin, Missouri, in 
1880, and has now been engaged in active practice in this place longer than 
any other member of the medical fraternity of the city. He has read exten- 
sively and thus kept in touch with the progress which is continually being made 
in professional circles. His knowledge is accurate and extensive, and he is 
seldom if ever at fault in diagnosing a case and predicting the complications 
and outcome of a disease. Added to his love of scientific research he has a 
deep human sympathy which is an important element in his success. 

Dr. Tyler was united in marriage to Miss Maggie Heathwood, a daugh- 
ter of Major Thomas Heathwood, of Joplin, Missouri, but formerly of Boston, 
Massachusetts, where Mrs. Tyler was born. By her marriage she has become 
the mother of four children: W'alter H., Major Heathwood, Dorothy and 
Harry T. The Doctor and his wife occupy an enviable position in social cir- 
cles and enjoy the high regard of many friends. In politics he is a stalwart 
Republican, unswerving in his advocacy o>f the principles of the party. He is 
recognized as one of its leaders and has taken a very active part in city politics. 



128 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

in 1882 he was a member of the city council, and from 1890 until 1895, inclu- 
sive, he was mayor of Joplin, — covering the period of the greatest growth and 
advancement of the city. It was during his administration that many needed 
improvements were introduced. A fire-alarm system was put in and a paid 
lire department instituted; a map of the city was also> made; the water-works 
were enlarged, their capacity being doubled ; electric lights were put in, and 
the sewer system was begun during his administration, a portion of the main 
sewer being completed ; stone pavements were also laid ; and the work of prog- 
ress and upbuilding was continued along other lines to the great benefit of the 
city. Joplin still feels the influence of his administration, and no other mayor 
of the city has done nearlv so much for the municipality. His long continu- 
ance in office indicated the confidence and trust which his fellow townsmen 
had in his ability and fidelity, and when his 'last term had expired he retired 
from office as he had entered it — with the good will and respect of all. He 
has served on the Republican county committee for three or four terms, and 
has twice been chairman of the county executive committee. He was also a 
candidate lor congress against Burton, of Nevada. Socially he is connected 
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks. Viewed in a personal light he is a strong man, of 
excellent judgment, fair in his views, and highly honorable in his relations 
with his fellow men. His integrity stands as an unquestioned fact in his 
career. His life has been manly, his actions sincere, his manner unaffected, 
?>nd his example is well worthy of emulation. 



v LOUIS PONCOT. 

Louis Poncot is one of the large landholders and successful farmers of 
Jasper county, Missouri. His birth occurred in sunny France, April 24, 1840, 
and he was a son of Antoine and Jane (Cantin) Poncot, both of whom were 
natives of France. In 1856 they came to America and located in Osage county. 
Missouri, where they lived until death, the mother dying in 1866, and the 
father in 1873. Mr. Poncot was a successful farmer and adhered to the prin- 
ciples of the Republican party. 

Louis Poncot was reared and educated in his native land, and came to the 
United States with his parents. For three years he was engaged in selling 
merchandise at Reeds, Missouri, since which time he has been engaged in gen- 
eral farming and stock-raising. His farm comprises four hundred and twenty- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 129 

two acres of valuable land, and he has demonstrated his ability as an enterpris- 
ing agriculturist. 

Mr. Poncot was married, in 1861, to Miss Rosine Pinet, a daughter of 
John Pinet, who brought his family to the United States in 1843, an d both he 
and wife died in Osage county, Missouri. To Mr. and Mrs. Poncot these five 
children have been born : Parmelia, Louis, Alfred, John and Amos. 

During the Civil war our subject was a member of the Home Guard. He 
has been a life-long Republican but has never sought office of any kind, being 
content to quietly do his full duty as a good citizen. While living in Osage 
county lie was made a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and 
has been active in the lodge in this locality. Mr. Poncot is one of the highly 
respected citizens and an excellent representative of the best class of residents 
of Jasper county. 

WILLIAM J. SEWALL. 

The Carthage Daily Press, one of the most enterprising and interesting 
journals of southwestern Missouri, is owned and published by William J. 
Sewall, whose connection with newspaper work has been of value to the com- 
munity, for through the columns of the paper he advocates all measures and 
movements which have for their object the welfare and progress of the locality. 
He is public-spirited in an eminent degree and has made the Press an active 
factor in molding public opinion. 

A native of Illinois, Mr. Sewall was born in Virden, Macoupin county, 
June 2, 1866, his parents being William W. and Susan E. (Cox) Sewall. 
His father was for many years engaged in the milling business in Illinois and 
later was a horticulturist of Jasper county, Missouri. He took great interest in 
introducing choice varieties of fruit, and in this way did much to improve the 
grade and kinds of fruit produced in this state. Pie was widely and favorably 
known as a reliable business man and a gentleman of sterling worth in other 
relations of life. His death occurred in Carthage in 1897, and his widow is 
now living in Wichita, Kansas. 

William J. Sewall continued in school until his twelfth year, when he 
entered upon connection with the journalistic field of labor as an employe in 
the office of the Virden Reporter, remaining there for two years. He after- 
ward became a student in the high school of his native town and later matricu- 
lated in Blackburn University, at Carlinville, Illinois, being graduated from 
that institution in the class of 1886. Thus well equipped for literary work he 



i3o BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

at once came to Carthage and secured a position as a compositor in the office 
of the Press, where he remained for eighteen months, and for two years he 
was in the job department of the Carthage Democrat. On the expiration of 
that period he purchased a third interest and became local editor of the Press, 
continuing to act in that capacity until August, 1896, when he purchased the 
other two-thirds interest of the Press of A. W. and L. B. St. John and has 
since been sole proprietor. He publishes a daily (evening) and a weekly edi- 
tion and has a well conducted sheet, neat in mechanical workmanship, inter- 
esting and authentic in its reading matter. It is also a good advertising 
medium, for it has a large circulation in the city and adjoining districts. The 
weekly is a twelve-page paper, the daily an eight-page journal, and in political 
adherence the paper is Republican. 

In 1893 Mr. Sewall was united in marriage to Miss Mary Taggart, of 
Upper Alton, Illinois, a daughter of the Rev. Samuel B. Taggart. Socially, 
he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and with the 
Modern Woodmen of America. He has a wide acquaintance throughout his 
adopted county, with whose interests he is so closely identified, and wherever 
he is known he has made friends who recognize his worth and entertain for 
him regard as a public-spirited citizen and reliable business man. 

JOHN W. BELL. 

Among the citizens of Jasper county, Missouri, who own productive farms 
underlaid with coal and who combine the occupations of farmer and miner, 
none is held higher in public esteem than John W. Bell, who lives on section 
16 in Jasper township. 

Mr. Bell was born October 1, 1867, on Red river, in the Cherokee Na- 
tion, a son of J. W. and Mary A. (Morrow) Bell, natives of Macoupin county, 
Illinois. His father died on the way from Illinois to Missouri. His mother, 
who is living at Medoc, brought him to Jasper county when he was about one 
month old. John W. and Mary A. (Morrow) Bell had a son and a daughter 
and the latter died at the age of two years. The son, who is the immediate 
subject of this sketch, was educated in public schools at and near Carthage. 
He began business as a general merchant and for about three years had a store 
at Medoc, where he filled the office of postmaster. In 1896' he located on his 
farm, which he had bought some time before, and engaged in general farming. 
It consists of one hundred and sixty acres, and he is the owner also of two 
hundred and forty acres in Barton county, which he rents out. On his home 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 131 

farm is a good coal mine, consisting of a coal vein three and a half feet in 
thickness, which he is working profitably. 

Mr. Bell is a Republican and is active in local political affairs, and he is 
a popular member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was mar- 
ried July 4, 1888, to Dora Wampler, a native of Nodaway county, Missouri, 
and thev have two daughters and three sons, named as follows : Jennie M., 
Galen M., Howard W., Clara M. and John M. 

ERASMUS FOLGER. 

In the death of Erasmus Folger, which occurred on April 13, 1891, at his 
home on section 13, Marion township, Jasper county, this locality not only lost 
a good citizen but one of its most estimable and worthy residents. Erasmus 
Folger was born in Flenry county, Indiana, on August 6, 1825. His father 
was Asa Folger, who was born in Massachusetts, of parents who were natives 
of Nantucket. 

The second child as well as the second son of his parents, Erasmus Folger 
was reared in Indiana until he was about six years old and then accompanied 
the family on its removal to Vermilion county, Illinois, and remained there 
until 1868, at which time he went to Jasper county, Missouri. He immediately 
located upon the land which now constitutes the farm upon which Mrs. Folger 
resides. Mr. Folger commanded uniform respect and esteem, and the con- 
fidence of the community was soon shown by his election as justice of the peace 
at a time when much trouble was likely to arise. He was, however, a man 
of peace, being an active member of the Society of Friends, and until his death 
enjoyed the regard of the people throughout the county. In politics he was a 
Republican, but never in any sense a politician. With sincere grief his remains 
were laid away in the Fairview graveyard. 

Virginia Ann (Price) Folger, the surviving widow of Erasmus Folger, 
was born in Vermilion county, Illinois, on July 29, 1833. She was a daughter 
of Williamson Price, who was a native of Virginia, where he remained until 
he was twenty-four years and then went to Tennessee, where he was married 
to Mary Dillen. Until 183 1 he lived there and then removed to Vermilion 
county, Illinois, whence he afterward went to Kansas and died there at the ad- 
vanced age of ninety-six years. His trade was that of carpenter and he was a 
thorough workman. He belonged to the Society of Friends and lived a worthy 
and exemplary life. His wife died when about fifty-five years of age. Three 
daughters and two sons had been born to them and Airs. Folger was the second 



132 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

daughter of the family. She grew to womanhood in Vermilion county and 
was carefully reared in the tenets of the Friends' belief. Five daughters and 
two sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Folger, namely : Eusebia, who is the 
widow of Lindley Haworth ; Medora, who died in Illinois at the age of three 
years ; Amnion, who lives in Monett, Missouri, and has two sons, — Fred and 
Erasmus; Matty, who died in Missouri at the age of eighteen; Mary, who died 
in Missouri at the age of twenty-seven; Frank, who lives in Carthage; and 
Alice, who is the wife of Edwin Owens, has one son, David Benjamin. 

Mrs. Folger has a fine farm of one hundred and ninety-nine acres of 
excellent land which she manages herself. She is held in high esteem in the 
neighborhood and has proven a kind neighbor, a good and faithful friend and 
a dispenser of much charity. 

HARRY R. CONKLIN. 

Great changes have occurred in the business world in the last fifty years 
and even in the last quarter of a century. There is a tendency in all depart- 
ments "-of labor toward specialization, and the man who wins success and ad- 
vancement is he who is specially trained for a certain kind of work, who has 
mastered his line of business both in principle and detail, in theory and prac- 
tice, giving him a comprehensive knowledge of the subject which will enable 
him to meet any condition that may arise, no matter how unexpected. Mr. 
Conklin, after several years of thorough preparation, entered upon his pres- 
ent position as superintendent of the Missouri Lead and Zinc Company, of 
St. Louis, now operating in the mining regions of Jasper county, and is to- 
day capably controlling the extensive interests of the corporation as repre- 
sented in and near Joplin. 

Mr. Conklin was born at Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1867. Excel- 
lent educational facilities, which he improved, fitted him for a prominent 
position in mining circles. He pursued his preliminary education in the 
schools of Appleton, Wisconsin, and afterward completed a course in elec- 
trical engineering in Cornell College, where he was graduated in 1892. He 
also pursued a mining course in the Washington University, of St. Louis. 
In January, 1898, he came to Joplin as the superintendent for the Missouri 
Lead and Zinc Company, of St. Louis, the successors of the Bankers Land 
and Mining Company, of St. Louis and Joplin, which was organized about 
1894. The Missouri Lead and Zinc Company owns twelve hundred acres in 
fee, adjoining Joplin, of which seven hundred acres are within the city limits, 




HARRY R. C0HKL1H. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 135 

on which stand about two hundred and fifty dwelling's. Their concentrating 
mill is also on their land, being situated on Michigan avenue and Seven- 
teenth streets. It is a four-hundred-ton mill, the largest in the district, run- 
ning custom work for the lessees on the land belonging to the company. 
The land is all operated on the leasing system, and about ninety leases are 
in effect, all in operation as mines and the majority yielding ore in paving 
quantities. The officers of the company are Alexander Ross, of New York, 
president; William F. Reed, of St. Louis, secretary and treasurer ; and Harry 
R. Conklin, superintendent. In his capacity as the executive officer of the 
company Mr. Conklin has the superintendence of the labors of forty men. 
His knowledge of the great mechanical principles which underlie the work 
carried on well equips him for the position which he fills, which is one of great 
importance and responsibility. 

In December, 1893, Mr. Conklin was united in marriage to Miss Mary 
Cronin, of Seneca Falls, New York, and unto this union have been born three 
children,— Ruth D., George T. and Richard. 



V 



GEORGE W. HOWARD. 



George W. Howard, who resides on section 5, Twin Grove township, Jas- 
per county, is one of the old settlers who was born near Abingdon, Knox 
county, Illinois, on February 14, 1837. He was a son of Stephen and Martha 
(Coffee) Howard, the former of whom was born in 181 1, in Kentucky, and 
was a son of John Howard, who also was a native of Kentucky, and died in 
Knox county, Illinois. Flis descent is supposed to have been from Irish and- 
English ancestors. Stephen Howard was one of the very early settlers in 
Knox county, Illinois. In 1848 he removed to Arkansas and located in Sebas- 
tian county, where he bought a claim, but ten years later he moved to Craw- 
ford county, Kansas, where he died in 1875. The mother of our subject was 
Martha Coffee, who was born in Kentucky, where she was reared and married, 
and she and her husband went to Knox county, Illinois, soon after. She be- 
came the devoted mother of six sons and two daughters and died at the age of 
forty-nine years. 

George W. Howard was the fourth in the family and was about eleven 
years old when his parents moved to Arkansas. About his twentieth vear he 
returned to Illinois, remaining one year, and then he joined his father in Kan- 
sas. On August 15, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company A, Sixth Kan- 
sas Volunteer Infantry, and served until honorably discharged at the mustering 

8 



136 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

out of his company at Camp Dietzler, Missouri. He then, in 1865, moved to 
Jasper county, Missouri, and located on the farm which he still occupies. There 
were then no improvements upon it and he found much hard work awaiting 
him ; but he had plenty of energy and perseverance and now is the owner of 
three hundred and eighty acres of fine land, some of which is rich in minerals. 

The first marriage of Mr. Howard was in Kansas, in 1862, to Mary M. 
Southard, who died in 1890, leaving four children: Mary E., the wife of 
William McKenna; Stephen W., living in Cherokee county, Kansas, with wife 
and three children; Lewis G., of Jasper county, with wife and three children; 
and George L., living in Mineral township, unmarried. The second marriage 
of Mr. Howard was to Mary E. Harshaw, and they have two children — 
Geneva and Murrel. 

The name of George W. Howard carries with it an assurance of integrity 
and justice in business transactions and he is well and favorably known through 
the county. He has been closely identified with much of the development of 
the farming sections, has set a good example in his own comfortable and at- 
tractive surroundings, and is most highly esteemed, not only in the Christian 
church, of which he is a member, but in the neighborhood where he is well 
known. In his political views he favors the Republican party. 

THOMAS HERRON. 

The well-known mine superintendent whose name is above has achieved 
success in different fields of human endeavor. He is of Canadian nativity, 
born in Ottawa, in 1853, a son of John and Margaret (Cram) Herron. His 
father was a native of Ireland, his mother a native of Scotland. He gained an 
education at Ottawa, but came to the United States and learned the pattern- 
maker's trade, at which he worked for some years. Later he became superin- 
tendent of bridges for the Texas Pacific Railway Company and for three years 
was a resident of Barnum, Polk county, Texas. Later he lived at Sherman, 
Texas, whence he came to Joplin, in 1877, and since that time he has worked 
much at his trade of pattern-maker, engaging also in mining operations, from 
time to time, on his own account. He has been the superintendent of the 
Oronogo Zinc Concentrate Company's mines, of the Manhattan, the Birthday, 
and Arkansas City mines, and of others equally well known. During the past 
tw< » years he has been mine superintendent for the Boston Aurora Zinc Com- 
pany, a corporation having its main offices at Boston, Massachusetts, and cap- 
italized at three million and two hundred thousand dollars, and for the Myrtle 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 137 

J. Mining Company, operating at Aurora, Missouri. He has come to be widely 
known as an efficient mining man of good judgment and executive ability. 

Mr. Herron is widely known in Masonic circles. He took the degrees of 
the York rite and was made an Ancient Free and Accepted Mason, and ac- 
quired in turn the degree of Royal Arch Mason and Knight Templar, and is 
the past eminent commander of Ascension Commandery, No. 39, Knights 
Templar. He received the degrees of Ancient and Accepted Scottish rite in 
the Consistory of Western Missouri, and he is also a member of Ararat Tem- 
ple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In politics he 
is a Republican. He married Miss Lola Franklin, a native of Neosho, Mis- 
souri, and a daughter of A. D. Franklin, a native of the state of New York, 
and has two children, Maud and Beaufort Herron, who are members of their 
parents' household. 

^ JAMES O'NEILL. 

James O'Neill, who is the president of the Webb City water works, is 
one of the leading and influential men of this part of Jasper county, and by 
his foresight and excellent business judgment has done much for the develop- 
ment of its interests. The birth of Mr. O'Neill was in Onondaga county, New 
York, in the village of Liverpool, on October 31, 1836, and he was a son of 
Peter and Hannah (W r alsh) O'Neill, both of whom were natives of Ireland. 
Peter O'Neill emigrated to America in 1828, and both he and wife passed their 
whole lives in the state of New York. 

The early education of James O'Neill was acquired in the common schools 
in Liverpool, but when only twelve years old he determined upon a useful 
career, displaying -at that age some of those characteristics which later in life 
aided in making him the prominent business factor he has become. The Erie 
canal was the scene of his first business venture, and as a driver along that 
water-way, at a salary of nine dollars per month, he worked for three years, 
saving his money, and at the end of that time was given a position on a freight 
boat plying between Buffalo, Oswego and New York, and here he remained 
and was a valued employe until 1865. 

About this time came the excitement in the Pennsylvania oil regions, and 
Mr. O'Neill went thither and invested in land which proved rich in petroleum, 
and for a long period he continued there, operating different wells. In 1879 
he saw the wisdom of investing in the rich lands of Jasper count}-, [Missouri, 
also bought laree tracts in Kansas, and became financiallv interested in the 



138 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

lead and zinc mines in the vicinity of Webb City, Missouri. His foresight and 
judgment told him the right time to dispose of his property, but previous to 
that he had developed some of the best mines in the Webb City and Carterville 
districts. At present Mr. O'Neill is the fortunate owner of one thousand acres 
of fine coal land in eastern Kansas, which is being operated under lease, while 
he receives a royalty. In Coffee and Cherokee counties in Kansas he owns one 
tract of fifteen hundred acres, and in Newton county, Missouri, he has both 
mineral and farming land. 

In 1890 Mr. O'Neill began the erection of the Webb City water works, at 
that time considered by his friends a hazardous undertaking, involving a large 
outlay with only possible returns, but he was far-sighted enough to anticipate 
the time when Webb City would reach its present proportions and his enter- 
prise would be rewarded. That time soon came and his system of water-works 
are now a necessity both in the city and for use in the mines in the separating 
of the ores from the crushed rock. All of the machinery is of the best con- 
struction and there are twenty-four miles of water mains in use. The officers 
of the company are : James O'Neill, president and treasurer ; George H. Bruen, 
secretary; and Henry O'Neill, vice-president, — although our subject owns 
nineteen-twentieths of the stock. Mr. O'Neill is a half owner of the plant of 
the Webb City Ice & Storage Company. 

In 1858 Mr. O'Neill was united in marriage with Miss Lucv Bachelder, 
who was born and reared in New York, and to this union two children were 
born, namely : Grace, who is the wife of George R. Regdon, of Scranton, 
Pennsylvania; and Jennie, who is the wife of George H. Bruen, of Webb City. 
The second marriage of Mr. O'Neill was to Miss Ora Hubbell, who was born 
in Cedar county, Missouri, and one son has been born of this marriage, — 
Robert Newland. 

Mr. O'Neill is as prominent in Masonic as in business circles and belongs 
to Chapter and Commandery, in Jamestown, New York, and is also connected 
with benevolent organizations in Webb City. Although he began life as a lad 
in humble circumstances his success has not been meteoric, but has resulted 
from his close attention to business, his uniform industry and the cultivation 
of his natural ability. Webb City has profited by his public spirit, as he has 
been the organizer of some of its most important enterprises. The Webb City 
Ice & Storage Company is one of the flourishing and indispensable lines of 
business, and the large and complete Newland Hotel was built by him and is 
an ornament to the city. Few of the public improvements have been carried 
out without his advice and assistance and his prominence is generally recog- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 139 

nized. His own residence is one of the most elegant and attractive in the city, 
and he is proud of the architectural improvement which is being displayed in 
the later buildings in his chosen city. Mr. James O'Neill is justly regarded as 
a leading and representative citizen of Webb City. 



J 



ISAIAH T. LIPPITT. 

The success which has come to the subject of this sketch is a legitimate 
reward of well directed effort, for I. T. Lippitt has made his way in the world 
along those lines which mark him as a self-made man. A son of Joseph \\ . 
and Mary (Tremmer) Lippitt, he was born in Noble county, Ohio, September 
7, 1859. His father, also a native of Noble county, Ohio, went to Jasper county, 
Missouri, in 1882, and located on the farm on which his son now lives. He 
died at Leon, Kansas, at the age of fifty-seven years. His wife, Mary Trem- 
mer, was born in Pennsylvania and reared in Ohio. She died in Missouri at 
the age of fifty-four years. 

Joseph W. and Mary (Tremmer) Lippitt had six children, five of whom 
are living. Isaiah T. Lippitt, their third child in order of birth, was reared in 
Noble county, Ohio, and went to Missouri with his parents, at the age of 
twenty-three years. Industry and perseverance are perhaps the most prominent 
traits of his character. He is now the owner of the old homestead, which he 
has developed into a highly productive farm and equipped with first-class 
buildings and appointments. It now consists of three hundred and thirty acres, 
and he devotes it largely to general farming and stock-raising, making a spe- 
cialty of hay, of which he bales considerable quantities. 

Politically he is a Republican and he is not without influence in the coun- 
cils of his party. He has filled the office of school director with ability and 
discretion. He is a member of the order of Modern Woodmen ; and, well- 
known and popular in all the relations of life, he is active and influential. 

In 1889 Mr. Lippitt married Miss Mary Davis, of Jasper county, a native 
of England, who came to America at the age of fifteen years, and they have 
two sous, named Lestie W. and Carl D. Lippitt. 

G. B. WALKER. 

G. B. Walker, who is one of the prosperous farmers of Jasper county, 
located on section 31, in Marion township, was born on the farm which he now 
owns and occupies, on April 4, 1843. The father of our subject was James 



140 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Walker, who was born near Steubenville, Brooks county, West Virginia, about 
1800, and located in Jasper county, Missouri, on Spring river, in 1836. He 
was one of the first settlers of the county and he cleared and improved the farm 
upon which his son was born and reared. Mr. Walker became one of the lead- 
ing men of the county, for many years was justice of the peace and was one of 
the best political speakers of his locality, the Scotch-Irish blood giving him an 
eloquent tongue. Mr. Walker was killed on his farm during the unhappy days 
of the Civil war. 

The mother of our subject was formerly Mary Robinson, and she was a 
native of Pennsylvania, and was married to Mr. Walker in Virginia. Her 
death was in 1862 when about sixty years of age. Seven sons and five daugh- 
ters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Walker, and all but two of these grew to ma- 
turity, but at this time the only survivors are our subject and his brother, Will- 
iam. The names of our subject's brothers and sisters were: Joseph, Eliza, 
Sarah, John, Eleanor, Mary, James, William, Malinda, Robert and George. 

G. B. Walker was the youngest of his parents' children and the only one 
to locate in Jasper county. Several brothers died in California and the sur- 
viving one resides in Indiana. Mr. Walker was reared among pioneer sur- 
roundings, his first school-house being one of logs, in the forest. Hard work 
and plenty of it toughened the growing youth, and, when he was nineteen years 
old and desired to enlist in Colonel Hunter's Ninth Missouri Cavalry for 
service in the Confederate army, he was gladly accepted, and he served gal- 
lantly through the war. His experience was a severe one, as he was twice 
wounded, once in the right arm and once in the left arm, the latter at the battle 
of Marshall, Salem county, Missouri. 

After the close of the war Mr. Walker made a cattle trip to Texas, driving 
them from Texas to a more northern state; but in 1868 he returned to the old 
homestead, and on March 6, 1870, was united in marriage to Miss Eliza J. 
Stith, who also was born in Jasper county, on March 21, 1852. She was a 
daughter of Edwin Stith, who was a native of Kentucky and had located in Jas- 
per county in 1844 and settled on Buck Ranch, in Preston township, where Mr. 
Stith improved a farm, leaving there in the spring of 1870, to found a new 
home in the Cherokee nation. His death occurred the next year in Washing- 
ton county, Arkansas. The mother of Mrs. Walker was formerly Emerina 
Hardaway, who was born in Kentucky, where she was also educated. She 
died when about fifty-eight years old. Mr. and Mrs. Stith had eleven children, 
and all but three of these grew to maturity. Mrs. Walker was the fifth member 
of the family and was reared in Jasper county, where she had but few educa- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 141 

tional advantages in her early years. The log school-house with its primitive 
equipments was the place where she first learned the rudiments. After her 
marriage she accompanied her husband to the old homestead, and where they 
have resided ever since and have reared two lovely daughters. Mr. and Mrs. 
Walker retain many of the old customs of former days and delight to entertain 
their friends in a most hospitable manner. The older daughter, Minnie, has 
passed to a home of her own, being the wife of James F. Ogden, of Colorado ; 
while the younger, Miss Bessie, is attending school. 

The farm occupied by Mr. Walker contains one hundred and twenty-five 
acres of the original homestead, and a general line of farming has been carried 
on. Mr. Walker is one of the highly respected citizens of this locality, where 
he has lived as boy and man, and for some twenty years has held the office of 
clerk of the school board. He has lived an eventful life and has witnessed the 
growth and development of Jasper county from a wilderness of wild animals 
into a community of great cultivated farms, flourishing towns and growing 
industries, becoming one of the most important counties of the great state of 
Missouri. 

EDWIN J. SAYRE. 

Illinois has given to Missouri many citizens of enterprise and public spirit 
who have done their full share toward developing the important interests of 
their adopted state ; and many of the prominent farmers of Jasper county are 
from the Prairie state, and perhaps Edwin T. Savre, who lives on section ^, 
in Jasper township, is as well-known and as highly respected as any of them. 

Edwin J. Sayre, son of Alonzo C. and Lucinda (Peckinpaugh) Sayre. 
Avas born in Rock Island county. Illinois, February 6, 1846. In one respect 
the father's personal history, so far as it is known to him, is somewhat re- 
markable. Alonzo C. Sayre, who was a farmer, was born in Logan count v. 
Ohio, in 1822, removed to Illinois about 1840. and to Jasper county, Missouri, 
about 1868, and about July 20, 1875, he disappeared and has never been heard 
from since. 

His wife, Lucinda Peckinpaugh, was born in Crawford county, Indiana, 
and was taken to Illinois when she was about three years old. She bore her 
husband four daughters and three sons, of whom the subject of this sketch was 
the first born. Edwin J. Sayre was educated in Rock Island county, Illinois, 
and went to Livingston county, that state, when he was about nineteen vears 
old. He removed to Jasper county, this state, in 1868, and located on the farm 



142 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

on which he now lives, which consists of one hundred and sixty acres of good 
land, which he devotes to general farming. 

Mr. Sayre, who has not married, is a Republican of considerable local 
influence, and has held several township offices, among them that of school 
director. He is well-known throughout the county and is popular. His public 
spirit is such that he assists all movements tending to advance the interests of 
his township to the extent of his ability, and he is especially interested in public 
education. 

JOHN C. TRIGG. 

The subject of this review is actively .connected with a profession which 
has important bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity of any section 
or community, and one which has long been considered as conserving the 
public welfare by furthering the ends of justice and maintaining public right. 
He to-day occupies a creditable position in the ranks of the legal fraternity 
of Joplin, where he has resided since May, 1873. 

Mr. Trigg is one of Missouri's native sons, his birth having occurred 
in Saline county, in 1843. The family is of Welsh extraction, and the 
grandfather, William Trigg, was a general in the state militia of Virginia. 
He made his home in that commonwealth, and was a man of prominence and 
influence. His son, John A. Trigg, the father of our subject, was born, 
reared and educated in Virginia, and about 1825 removed from Albemarle 
county to Saline county, Missouri, where he spent his remaining days. 
About 1830 he was admitted to the bar, and thereafter was actively engaged 
in the practice of law for a number of years. He was elected circuit clerk 
— a position whose duties are now embraced in three county offices, — and 
served in that capacity for twelve years, or until the time of his death, which 
occurred in 1873, when he was sixty-three years of age. He was well 
known in professional circles, and his long continuation in office stands in 
unmistakable evidence of his ability and fidelity. He married Rebecca Bing- 
ham, a daughter of Wyatt Bingham, of a distinguished family of the Old 
Dominion. She was born in Virginia and was of English lineage. 

In the public schools of Saline, Cooper and Pettis counties, John C. 
Trigg pursued his education, and after preparing for the bar was admitted 
to practice at Boonville, Missouri, in 1865. He then established an office 
at Marshall, the county seat of Saline county, where he remained until 1873, 
when he came to Joplin, where he has since made his home. He has been 




JOHN C. TRIGG. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 145 

city attorney here for eight different terms. His service has not been con- 
secutive, but again and again he has been called to the office, showing that 
he is most prompt and faithful in the discharge of the duties devolving upon 
him. His logical grasp of facts and principles and of the law applicable to 
them has been a potent element in his success, and a remarkable clearness 
of expression, an adequate and precise diction, which enables him to make 
others understand not only the salient points of his argument, but his every 
fine gradation of meaning, may be accounted one of his most conspicuous 
gifts and accomplishments. 

Mr. Trigg was united in marriage to Miss Marian W. Finlay, daughter 
of W. H. Finlay, for many years judge of Saline county. They had one 
son, Walker B., an attorney at law, who died in Joplin in December, 1900, 
at the age of thirty-one years. When of age he was admitted to the bar and 
for ten years practiced in Joplin in connection with his father. He was also 
active in other business and was prominent in county affairs. Socially he 
was a Mason. Mr. and Mrs. Trigg have one daughter, E. Blanche, who is 
at home. Socially Mr. Trigg is a representative of the Benevolent Protec- 
tive Order of Elks and of the Commercial Club, serving as president of the 
latter in 1896. He is now the mayor of Joplin, having been elected on the 
Democratic ticket in April. 1901, accepting the candidacy after urgent solici- 
tation from men on both sides. He was reared in the Methodist Episcopal 
church, South, and is deply interested in everything pertaining to the welfare 
and progress of his community. 

VJOHN S. MOORE. 

A citizen of Jasper county, Missouri, entitled to honor as a pioneer, as a 
soldier of our Civil war and as an upright progressive man, is John S. Moore, 
who is now living in retirement, in the deeclining years of a busy and useful 
life, at Villa Heights, two miles east of Joplin. 

Mr. Moore was born in Ross county, Ohio, a son of Elijah and Catherine 
(Dreisbach) Moore. His father was reared in Ross county, Ohio, and his 
grandfather, in the paternal line, who served his country in the war of 181 2, 
was an early settler in that county. Mr. Moore's mother, Catherine Dreisbach, 
was born in Ohio, removed thence to Illinois and afterward to Kansas, where 
she died. Mr. Moore remained in his native county in Ohio until he was 
eighteen years old, then, in 1854. went to Piatt county, Illinois. In 1861 he 
married Miss Leah R. Dorris, a native of Ross county, Ohio, whose father 



146 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

had died in 1854 and whose mother went to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1869, 
and died there at the age of sixty-five. 

In 1862 Mr. Moore enlisted in the One Hundred and Seventh Regi- 
ment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, at Monticello, Piatt county, Illinois, and 
served with that organization three years, during which time it formed a part 
of the Second Brigade, Second Division, Twenty-third Army Corps, under 
General Schofield. In campaigns in Kentucky and West Virginia he was in 
General Amhrose E. Burnside's command, later he was in the command of 
General George H. Thomas, and followed the leadership of General W. T. 
Sherman to Atlanta, whence he returned to Springfield, Illinois, where he was 
honorably discharged from the service. 

In 1869 Mr. Moore came to the vicinity of the present site of Joplin, 
where at that time no town had been established. Carthage was then a small 
village. He engaged in farming and in other enterprises in Galena township, 
where he remained until 1880, giving his attention partially to mining, in which 
he was successful. He is a strong Republican, devoted heart and soul to the 
principles of his party, and in the year 1900 held the office of judge of election. 
His son, James Austin Moore, of Villa Heights, is a mining operator. His son, 
George W., is a farmer in Colorado. His daughter, Oreno, married Elmer 
Weyman, of Raymer, Cass county, Missouri. His daughter, Mary Alice, is 
a member of her father's household. His son, Warren, is in the grocerv trade 
at Villa Heights. 

JAMES C. THORNTON. 

The prominent mine operator whose name is mentioned above was born 
in Saline county, Missouri, where his father, James Thornton, was an early 
settler. His father was born and reared in Howard county, Missouri, and 
now. at the age of eighty years, lives on the farm to which he was taken sev- 
enty-seven years ago, when he was three years old. Peter Thornton, the father 
oi James Thornton and the grandfather of the immediate subject of this sketch, 
was a native of Virginia and a member of an old family of that state. James 
Thornton married Miss Amanda Bridgewater, a native of Cooper county, 
Missouri. James C. Thornton married Miss Minnie H. McKee, a daughter 
of Henry McKee, of Joplin, Missouri, who was a pioneer there and is now 
living there in retirement; and she has borne him children named as follows: 
Tennie C, Juanita, Jahleel and Paul. The family have a pleasant home on 
the Hastings place at Chitwood. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 147 

Mr. Thornton, who is now superintendent of the Cliff mine, on the 
Granby land, came to this district in 1878, twenty-three years ago, and has 
been mining continuously since that time. He has been superintendent of the 
Morning Star mine at Webb City, the La Salle mines at Spring City, the \V. 
S. Johnson mines at West Hollow, the Gold Standard mine at Midway, the 
Boston Loy mine at Stott's City, the C. C. mine on the Leonard lease, the Nick- 
elsville mine on the Yale-O'Brien lease, and the Treuble mine on the Conti- 
nental lease, and is one of the best-known mining men in the district. He 
opened up on his own account the Big Nugget mine in Reddish Hollow, and 
the Potter mine in West Hollow. He is a Red Man and a Modern Wood- 
man, and is known as a man of enterprise and public spirit. 



V HENRY D. SMITH. 

One of the first of the early settlers of Jasper county, Missouri, and one 
of its most substantial and esteemed citizens is Henry D. Smith, who was born 
in Chautauqua county. New York, on January 7, 183T, and he was a son of 
Proctor and Ruth (Keeler) Smith. Proctor Smith was a native of New 
York and by occupation was a farmer. In 1836 he moved to Illinois and 
located in what was then known as the Yankee settlement in the vicinity of 
loliet, and there he improved a farm and remained until about 1839, when 
he went west of Chicago and located in McHenry county, where fine farming 
lands were to be found. In 1854 he removed into Iowa and settled in Bremer 
county, and remained engaged in agricultural pursuits for the succeeding 
twelve years, at the close of that period moving into Jasper county, Missouri. 
His death occurred in Alba, Missouri, in 1876. In politics he was always in 
accord with the Democratic party. 

The mother of our subject was formerly Ruth Keeler, and she was born 
and reared in the state of New York, her family being prominent in the vicinity 
of Rochester. Her death occurred in 1840, in Illinois. Nine children had 
come under her loving care, seven of whom grew to maturity, these being 
Philo, who died in California ; Mary, who is the widow of F. M. Mead and 
lives in Illinois; Philip, who resides in Granville, Ohio; Martha, who is the 
wife of F. M. Sponable, of Alba, Missouri ; and Alonzo, deceased. Mr. Smith', 
of this biography, was the second son in the family and the third child. He 
was three vears of age when he was taken into Illinois and remained at home 
until he was eighteen years of age, at which time he made the trip across the 
plains to California. This was in 1850, when the youth of the land was turn- 



148 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

ing- an expectant face toward the Golden state. Mr. Smith's first mining ex- 
perience was at a camp then called Hangtown, which name was later changed 
to Placerville, as placer mining was then the general industry in that locality. 
Mr. Smith spent six years in gold mining, with varying success, and returned 
by way of the Panama route to New York city. One year of this time he 
spent in San Francisco, and he saw much of the state during his residence 
there; but he was not enough impressed to cause him to> make it his perma- 
nent home. 

When our subject returned from the far west he first located in Bremer 
.county, Iowa, where he remained until 1866, at which time he. came to Jasper 
county, Missouri, and for about one and one-half years he lived in Alba, and 
then located on the fine farm which he now occupies. This land was formerly 
the property of Judge McMagregor and had never been improved, and was 
called swamp land, but Mr. Smith saw its possibilities and immediately began 
making substantial changes. A comfortable house was built, which still 
stands on an adjoining farm, and now this eighty-acre farm under cultivation 
and the tv/enty acres of timber bear small resemblance to the farm upon which 
our subject settled in those early days of the county. He has carried on gen- 
eral farming and successful stock-raising and has prospered. Mr. Smith 
has also engaged in mining, and owns stock in the Duenweg and the Chetwood 
Hollow' and the Kansas City Bottom. 

The marriage of Mr. Smith was to Catherine A. Etting, who was born 
in Ulster county', New York, where she was reared, and two children were 
born of this union: Minnie, who died at the age of eighteen months; and 
Leslie. Leslie Smith was born in Bremer county, Iowa, on May 8, 1865, 
and Avas live years of age when brought to Jasper county. His mining inter- 
ests are in association with those of his father. He married Miss Marcia 
B. Allen, who was a daughter of D. W. Allen, of Carthage, Missouri, and they 
have one daughter, — Pearl. Mr. Smith has taken an active interest in public 
affairs, and lias long been known as one of the most ardent Republicans of 
Jasper county. 



i 



WILLIAM J. BAGBY 



Prominently connected with the mining industries of Jasper county., Mis- 
souri, is William J. Bagby, the efficient superintendent of the well-known 
Marion mine. The birth of Mr. Bagby was in Springfield, Greene county, 
".Missouri, and he was a son of Samuel and Ruth (Marshall) Bagby, the for- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. M9 

mer of whom died when the son was but four years old, the latter, a native of 
Missouri, now living in Fort Scott, Kansas. 

Mr. Bagby came to Joplin in 1882. For the previous nine years he had 
been a conductor on the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad, but he saw the 
great opportunities afforded in Jasper county and decided to locate in the 
mining districts. Since that time he has been continuously engaged opening 
up some hne mines and acting as ground foreman and as contractor, but in 
1899 he came to the Marion mine and has opened it from the top down, the 
two shafts extending one hundred and seventy and one hundred and fifty feet, 
respectively, and uses a one-hundred-and-fifty-ton mill. This plant is located 
on Continental land and the ore is of Ai quality. 

Mr. Bagby married Miss Helen Robinson, who was born in Lawrence, 
Kansas, a daughter of Samuel Robinson, who was one of the early settlers of 
Lawrence. Three children have been born of this union, namely : Benjamin, 
Roy and Yianna, all of them now attending school. Socially Mr. Bagby is 
connected with the A. O. U. W. and Woodmen of the World. 



/ 



CHARLES G. SHAFFER. 



Charles G. Shaffer has been largely interested in developing the natural 
resources of Missouri, and his labors in that direction have contributed not 
aione to his individual prosperity, but have also largely promoted the material 
interests of the state. He was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, where 
lie was also reared and educated. From his native place he came to Jasper 
county, Missouri, in 1886, casting in his lot among the settlers of this locality, 
and he has ever since taken an active and laudable interest in everything 
pertaining to the welfare of the community. In 1886 he had charge of the 
Paxton ground at Joplin, where he remained for one year, and then came 
to Prosperity, Jasper county, serving as superintendent of the Troup mines, 
which were located on land which his brother, William Shaffer, had pur- 
chased and afterward sold to the Jasper County Mining & Operating Com- 
pany. Mr. Shaffer spent eleven years in their employ, on the expiration of 
which period he began mining operations on his own account, and by close 
application to business and untiring effort he has risen to a high position in 
the ranks of his chosen occupation. 

When the trouble between the north and the south arose Mr. Shaffer 
loyally responded to the call to arms, enlisting, in 1861, in the Fifth Penn- 
sylvania Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for three months. His 



i5o BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

brother, John F. Shaffer, was also a member of the Union army during that 
memorable struggle. 

For a companion on the journey of life Mr. Shaffer chose Miss Eliza 
Hummell, a daughter of David Hummell, deceased. He owned one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of farming and mining land adjoining the famous Troup 
property. He was a native of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and his death occurred 
in 1880. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer has been blessed with two 
children, — Harvey and Edith. The family occupy a prominent position in 
social circles, and Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer have a circle of friends almost co- 
extensive with their circle of acquaintances. 

SIMON W. DREISBACH. 

Industry and honesty are necessary to a successful commercial life and 
they are as necessary to a successful life as a farmer, and this thought is sug- 
gested by a consideration of the career of Simon W. Dreisbach, a leading 
farmer of Madison township, Jasper county, Missouri. 

Mr. Dreisbach is a descendant of an old Pennsylvania family, his grand- 
father, John Dreisbach, having been a native of that state, and his father, 
Jacob E. Dreisbach, having been born in Union county, Pennsylvania, in 
1823. About 1832 Jacob E. Dreisbach went from his native town in Penn- 
sylvania to' Pickaway county, Ohio, where he married Catherine Wagner, who 
was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, a daughter of Jacob Wagner, who had 
come out to Ohio' from Pennsylvania. Simon W. Dreisbach was born in 
Pickaway county, Ohio, in 1847, anc ^ came with his father's family to Jasper 
county, Missouri, in 1870, when he was twenty-three years old. The family 
lived in Madison township on the farm on which our subject now lives. Mr. 
Dreisbach has two brothers, William and Isaiah, who are in business in Carth- 
age, Missouri. Mrs. Paul Fellars, of Madison township, and the widow of 
Rev. E. E. Condo (he having lost his life in a cyclone while a Methodist Epis- 
copal pastor at Marshfield, Missouri), of Toledo, Ohio, are his sisters. Mr. 
Dreisbach married Miss Emma Ralston, a native of Hancock county. Illinois, 
born December 29, 1855, a daughter of Wesley and Charlotte (Wade) Rals- 
ton, both also natives of that county. Mr. Ralston came with his family to 
Jasper county in 1870, and at one time filled the office of county judge of this 
county. He is now a resident of Carthage. Mr. and Mrs. Dreisbach have 
children as follows: Maude, born July 1, 1876, is now Mrs. M. A. Coonrod, 
of Joplin; Ethel, born January 19, 1878, is now Mrs. E. Robison, of Carthage; 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 151 

Gertrude was born January 30, 1881 ; Blanche, March 12, 1883; Lauren, June 
2, 1885; Winfred, February 7, 1891 ; Carlyle, October 6, 1893; and Lucile, 
June 27, 1898. Three of their children have passed away: Lester, who was 
born November 10, 1879, and died July 5, 1880; Lottie May, born May 1, 
1887, who died on the 30th of March, 1891 ; and Verna Marie, born July 8, 
1896, who died November 14th of the same year. 

Madison township had an independent organization for three years, and 
during the last term of its existence Mr. Dreisbach served his fellow citizens 
as township trustee. From 1884 until 1889 he farmed in Sedgwick county, 
Kansas. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Carthage, 
and in political affiliations is a silver Republican. His mother died in 1892, 
aged sixty-eight years, and his father, at the age of seventy-eight years, is 
living in Carthage. 



. 



JOHN C. GUINN. 



Among the old settlers of Jasper county and one of the prominent citizens 
is John C. Guinn, who resides on section 5, and owns about three thousand 
acres of land in this county. Grandfather Alexander Guinn came to America 
an emigrant from Ireland, and located very many years ago in Virginia. His 
son, P. R. Guinn, was born in Greene county, Tennessee, where he followed 
farming and died at the age of sixty-six years. He was the father of our sub- 
ject, and lie married Lotty Lauderdale, who was born in Tennessee, where she 
died in 1842. Her ancestry was Welsh. They had eight sons and one daugh- 
ter. Two of these died in infancy, and our subject was the fourth child and 
the third son in the family. 

John C. Guinn was born in Greene county, Tennessee, on August 29, 
1832, and he remained in his native place until he reached his eighteenth year, 
when he went to Georgia. His education had been that of the common 
schools, but from his sixteenth year he had shaped his own career. He found 
employment in the agricultural districts, and on November 7, 1861, was united 
in marriage to Mary J. Broome, who was born in Georgia, and whose death 
took place in 1S95. The three children of this union were: Charles B., John 
B., and Lottie FL, who is the wife of R. M. Young, of Georgia. 

In 1865 Mr. Guinn came to* Jasper county, and in 1867 he located here 
permanently, although his family did not come until 1871. Mr. Guinn is one 
of the large landholders in this section and owns much land and many mining- 
interests in Webb City. His life has been one of industry, and by close atten- 



152 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

tion to business and the exercise of good judgment he has become possessed 
of large means, and is one of the substantial citizens of the county. In politics 
Mr. Guinn has been a life-long Democrat, and is one of the most esteemed 
citizens of Jasper county. 

>/ JOHN W. BAIRD. 

One of the substantial and highly esteemed citizens of Jasper county 
who is a resident of Carthage, Missouri, is John W. Baird, who was born 
in West Virginia, March 2, 1827. His grandfather, John Baird, was born 
in Ireland, near Dublin, came to America at an early day, and was a consist- 
ent member during life of the old school Presbyterian church. John Baird, 
the father of our subject, was born in West Virginia, in one of the block 
houses which had been erected for protection from the Indians. Prior to her 
marriage the mother of our subject was Catherine Holtz. She was born in 
Pennsylvania, where she married, and with her husband she moved to Bel- 
mont county, Ohio, when our subject was still an infant. In 1837 the fam- 
ily removed to Des Moines county, Iowa, where they remained until 1856, 
when they went to Kirksville, Missouri, where both parents died. They had 
been worthy members of the Presbyterian church, in which the father had 
long been an elder. Formerly he was a Whig in politics, but during the 
Mexican war joined the Democratic party. 

John W. Baird attended school in Des Moines county, Iowa, and re- 
mained at home, engaged in farming, until his twenty-sixth year. He then 
married Miss Alary J. Jones, of Fort Madison, Iowa. Her father was 
John Jones, who was reared in Bristol, England, and after coming to Amer- 
ica located in Wheeling, West Virginia, and in that state was also married. 
During a business trip to New Orleans he was stricken with yellow fever 
nnd died there. The mother of Mrs. Baird was formerly Jane Jamison, and 
she was a member of the old family of that name in Virginia. Nine chil- 
dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Baird, six of whom grew to maturity: 
Jennie became the wife of Robert L. McAtee and died, leaving three children, 
Daisey, Kate and Ruth ; Clara married E. F. Mann, of Fort Madison, Iowa, 
and has one son, Adrian; David W. is deceased; Frank P., who resides in 
Carthage, wedded Mary S. Taylor, of Dallas, Texas, and has two children, 
Franklin John Gipson and Clifford Birtrum; Edwin resides in Bartlesville, 
Indian Territory ; and Lewis, who, although a resident of Iola, Kansas, is a 




JOHN W. BAIRD. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 1 55 

partner in business with his brother Edwin. He married Stella Vanosdell 
and has one son, Philip Vanosdell. 

Immediately after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Baird settled in Drakes- 
ville, Davis county; Iowa, where Mr. Baird became a partner in a general 
mercantile business with P. B. Marcey, his wife's stepfather. This associ- 
ation continued for sixteen years, at which time Mr. Baird sold his interest, 
removed to Texas and spent the succeeding ten years in trading in that state. 
In 1883 he removed to Carthage, Missouri, and purchased two farms in 
Jasper county, one of eighty acres in Union township and the other of one 
hundred and twenty acres in McDonald township, both of these farms being 
now rented. His pleasant residence in Carthage is located at No. 2602 South 
Garrison avenue. 

Politically Mr. Baird is a Democrat, while socially he is connected with 
Wildy Lodge, Xo. 21, of Paris, Texas, having been a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows for the past forty-seven years. He is well 
known and highly esteemed, and justly ranks as one of the representative 
citizens of Jasper county. 

. M. C. CRAMPTON. 

M. C. Crampton, a prominent farmer of Mineral township, Jasper county, 
was born in Lancaster, Fairfield county, Ohio, on December. 5, 1830, a son of 
Moses and Susan ( Rorback ) Crampton. The paternal grandfather was born 
in England and died while on his passage to America, three days before the 
birth of his son Moses. Five days later the mother died also, and a man by 
the name of Crampton, or possibly Hampton, took the infant and reared him. 

Moses Crampton was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and was taught the 
trade of a blacksmith. About 1818 he moved to Lancaster, Ohio, and was 
the first one to- open a smithy in that place, and he also worked with Collins, 
the ax-maker. He took part in the war of 1812, serving as a private, and 
paid the sum of five dollars for his own gun. In 1838 he moved to Crawford 
county, Illinois, and located at Robinson, the county seat, and there began 
to farm and raise stock, and also conducted a blacksmith shop. He was one 
of the prominent Democrats of the town, a great admirer of Andrew Jackson, 
and was a pious and consistent member of the Presbyterian church. His 
life extended over eighty-five useful years, although it began under such sor- 
rowful circumstances. His devoted wife, who was the mother of our sub- 
ject, was Susan Rorbach, who was born in Sharpsburg, Virginia, and lived 



156 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

to the age of seventy-five years, having reared a family of ten children, nine 
sons and one daughter. Our subject was the youngest of the family and is 
its only survivor. 

Mr. Crampton was about eight years old when the family moved to Craw- 
ford county, Illinois, and he was reared on a farm and received his education 
in the district schools, being usually obliged to walk five miles to reach the 
school house. At the age of nineteen he went to Hardinville, Illinois, and 
there entered a shop and began an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade, 
after which he opened up a shop of his own in Hardinville, remaining there 
from 1856 to 1 86 1, working at his trade and carrying on general farming. 
In 1866 he moved to Clark county, Illinois, where he resided on a farm until 
1876, and then came to Jasper county, Missouri. For a short period Mr. 
Crampton rented land, but finally located upon the fine farm which he now 
owns and operates. This contains one hundred and sixty acres, and here he 
has made almost all of the valuable improvements and has placed almost all 
of the land under cultivation. 

In 1857 Mr. Crampton married Barbara Jones, who was born and reared 
in Ohio, and eight children have been born to this union, namely : Joseph 
H., Jasper C, Thornton L., William. Joanna, Mary F., Dora and Cora J. 
The last named died when but three months old. Mr. Crampton is well 
known in Democratic and Masonic circles in Jasper county, and is one of the 
highly respected and influential citizens. 



/ 



JOSEPH C. STEWART. 



The financial and commercial history of Missouri would be very incom- 
plete and unsatisfactory without a personal and somewhat extended mention 
of those whose lives are interwoven so closely with the industrial and financial 
development of the southwestern portion of the state. When a man, or a 
select number of men, have set in motion the occult machinery of business, 
which materializes into many forms of practical utility, or where they have 
carved out a fortune or a name from the common possibilities, open for com- 
petition to all, there is a public desire which should be gratified to see the 
men as nearly as a portrait and a word artist can paint them, and examine the 
elements of mind and the circumstances by which such results have been 
achieved. 

The subject of this sketch finds an appropriate place in the history of 
those men of business whose enterprises have contributed to the general pros- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 157 

per it}' and to the commercial activity of Jasper county. His career has not 
been helped by accident or luck or wealth or family or powerful friends. 
He is in its broadest sense a self-made man, being both the architect and 
builder of his own fortune. As president of the Exchange Bank of Webb 
City he is widely and favorably known. 

Mr. Stewart was born in Blair county, Pennsylvania, in 1844, and is a 
son of Robert and Charlotte (Flack) Stewart. The parents were both natives 
of Pennsylvania and the father was a carpenter and joiner by trade. The 
son was educated in the common schools and in a private school in Blair 
county, pursuing his studies until sixteen years of age, when he entered upon 
his business career as a salesman in a general store. He was employed in 
that capacity in different establishments until 1867, when he went to the 
Rocky Mountains, where he engaged in gold-mining for five years, and for 
two years he conducted a store there. In 1876 he returned to his home in 
Pennsylvania, and the following year came to Missouri, locating in Webb 
City, becoming connected with the mining interests and accepting the super- 
intendency of the Center creek mines, which were among the first to be 
developed in the Webb City district. Here he has since operated, the tract 
being very productive of rich zinc ore. Later Mr. Stewart had the entire 
management of the business of the Center Creek Mining Company, and has 
since continued in that position. He is also interested in the lumber business 
in company with his brother, W. C. Stewart, under the name of Stewart 
Brothers, and their enterprise is a profitable one. Other industries and busi- 
ness affairs in Joplin county have elicited his attention and support, and his 
wise business management has contributed to their success. He is the presi- 
dent and heaviest stockholder of the Webb City Iron Works, and in 1889 he 
organized the Exchange Bank of Webb City, at which time he was elected 
president, acting in that capacity continuously since, with the result that the 
bank has become one of the strongest and most reliable financial concerns in 
this part of the state and is receiving a liberal patronage. His realty posses- 
sions include some valuable mining land both in Missouri and Kansas. 

On the 19th of March, 1879, Mr. Stewart was united in marriage to 
Miss Hortense D. Street, and unto them have been born two sons, Robert and 
Edgar, both in school, and a daughter, Cora Lotta, now at Monticello Sem- 
inary, Godfrey, Illinois. Socially Mr. Stewart is connected with Webb City 
Lodge, F. & A. M., and Wilmot Chapter, R. A. M.. and has passed all the 
chairs in those organizations. He is president of the board of education 
and he heartily co-operates in every movement tending to advance the educa- 



158 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

tidnal, social, material and moral welfare of the community. In politics he 
is a pronounced Republican, and was one of the delegates to the national con- 
vention which met in Chicago in 1888 and nominated General Benjamin Har- 
rison for the presidency. His varied interests, controlled by superior business 
and executive force, have led to the substantial development of this section 
of the state, and an honorable and straightforward career has commanded for 
him the esteem and confidence of his fellow r men. 

ALFRED A. LAMKIN. 

The sturdy stock of the Empire state has contributed largely to the 
progress and prosperity of every state in the west. Of such stock is Judge 
Alfred A. Larrikin, of Sheridan township, Jasper county, Missouri, who has 
been a resident of the county since 1866, and besides being one of its prominent 
farmers has ably filled the office of county judge and otherwise served the 
interests of his fellow citizens. 

Judge Lamkin was born in Cayuga county, New York, June 30, 1833, 
and the same year was brought with his father's family to Seneca county, 
Ohio. His parents were Sylvester H. and Lucy (Rice) Lamkin, natives of 
Cayuga county. New York. The boy was reared and educated in Seneca 
countv, Ohio, and began his active life there. April 18, 1861, he enlisted in 
the Seventh Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served three 
months, re-enlisting in the Twenty-fifth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 
with which organization he was in active service until November, 1863. He 
spent the winter of 1863-4 at his home in Ohio, and in May, 1864, went to 
Llarper's Ferry, Virginia, and attached himself to the train of the Second 
Brigade. Sixth Army Corps, with which he served until the fall of 1865. 
He was in active service in the Army of the Potomac until the battle of 
Gettysburg, and after that, until his temporary stay at home, was connected 
with an ambulance corps of the Army of the Potomac which served in South 
Carolina. 

After the war he returned to his Ohio home, and in 1866 was married, 
in Seneca count}', Ohio, to Miss Martha Fleet, daughter of Abraham Fleet, 
who came to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1866, and located in Sheridan town- 
ship, where he was prominent in all public affairs and is well remembered for 
having, with Judge McGregor, fought the scheme to compel Jasper county to 
liquidate bonds issued in favor of a railway company. Mr. Fleet was a native 
of Steuben county. New York, and died in Sheridan township, Jasper county, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 1 59 

Missouri, August I, 1896, aged eighty-six years. After the war Mr. Lamkiii 
removed to Jasper county, Missouri, where he has lived continuously since 
1866 and lias been active m Republican politics. He cast his first presidential 
vote for General Fremont in 1856, and from that time to this he has never 
voted for a presidential candidate other than a Republican. He was town- 
ship clerk of Sheridan township for four years, during the entire period of 
the maintenance of the township organization. In 189 1 he was elected county 
judge, an office which he filled two years with distinguished credit. He has 
lived on his present farm since he came to the county. It now consists of 
three hundred and sixty-six acres, on which are a fine residence, ample farm 
buildings and other appointments and conveniences. Mr. and Mrs. Lamkiii 
have two children, Tillie, who is the wife of John M. Richardson, of Lincoln 
township, Jasper county, Missouri; and Harry S., who is a member of his 
father's household. 

Mr. Lamkin is now able to look back over such a career of industry and 
usefulness as must be most satisfactory to any right-minded man. As 1 
farmer he has been a leader in improvement and development. As a citizen 
he has been public-spirited in the highest degree. As a public official he has 
been faithful to ever}' trust, great and small, that has been reposed in him. 

AlONROE CLARK. 

One of the substantial citizens of Marion township, Jasper county, is 
Monroe Clark, who is also a highly respected business man. His birth oc- 
curred in Madison county, Arkansas, March 20, 1832, and he was a son of 
Thomas Clark, who was born in the state of Tennessee about twenty-five 
miles from Nashville. In 1855 he removed to Barry county, [Missouri, where 
he died at the age of seventy-six. His ancestry was a combination of 
Irish. Dutch and English. *■ 

The mother of Monroe Clark was in her maidenhood Nancy Combs. 
She was a member of the old family of that name, well known throughout 
Tennessee, and she lived until she had reached her seventy-sixth year. Twelve 
children were born to these parents, and all grew to maturity and are living. 
They have scattered and founded families of their own in different parts of 
the Union. 

Monroe Clark was the eldest son of his parents, and he was reared in 
Madison count)-, Arkansas, where he remained until he had nearly reached 
his twenty-first year. In 1S65, immediately after the close of the Civil war, 



160 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

he went to Newton county, Missouri, and began mining, and in 1871 he 
came to Joplin, at which time but one house had been erected in what is now 
a thriving city. Mr. Clark hauled the first pump that was set up in Joplin, 
bringing it from Oronogo. In connection with William Beaves he kept 
house for a time in a wagon. Those were busy days, and Mr. Clark 
worked industriously as a common miner, following this laborious task from 
187 1 until 1895. Fie was resolute, courageous, persevering, and, therefore, 
successful. 

In 1893 he bought his farm of five hundred and seven acres, and re- 
moved to it in 1895, and since that date has carried on general farming, in 
connection with duties pertaining to various other business lines. This farm 
is called the Town Line Stock Farm, and he has two residences upon it, near 
the center of the property, with all kinds of valuable improvements, includ- 
ing commodious barns. He has taken an active interest in politics and was 
one of the first councilmen in Joplin, holding the office for eight years, and 
through his efforts many of the most important improvements in this sec- 
tion were organized and carried out. He built the first hotel in Joplin, 
named it the St. James, and rented it. 

Mr. Clark was one of the pioneer miners, and has had much experi- 
ence in handling mining property. He was one of the syndicate that opened 
the Tracy mining tract of four hundred and forty acres at Webb City, and 
was superintendent of the same for eight years and owned one-fifth of the 
lease. The last year of the company's operations they paid ten per cent roy- 
alty, which amounted to thirty thousand dollars. His partners were Dr. 
L. C. Price, J. A. Hewitt, W. M. Lackey and E. R. Moffett, and with him, 
composed the company that opened up that large and productive mining 
property and operated it for nine years. 

Mr. Clark also had mercantile experience. In connection with W. E. 
Johnson he embarked in the mercantile business in Joplin, and continued for 
two years, later trading this business for a coal mine, although he does very 
little mining now, giving his attention principally to farming. He owns 
considerable property in Webb City, which he rents and which produces a 
good income. 

Mr. Clark was married, December 25, 1852, to Elizabeth Newton, who 
was born near Batesville, Arkansas, but was early left an orphan. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Clark these children were born : Nancy Jane, who is the wife of 
Virgil Board, of Joplin ; Alabama, who is the wife of John F. Wise, of Jopr 
lin ; Amanda, who married W. A. Dooley, but both have passed away ; Mary 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 161 

Ellen, who is the wife of J. W . Colvin, of Joplin ; Alonzo, who married Miss 
Shannon, of Joplin; and an infant that died. One of the members of the 
family of Mr. Clark is his grandson, Frank Dooley, who lost his parents 
when a babe. He is a resident of Joplin, and married Miss Maud Sims. 

The success which has attended Mr. Clark is but the natural result which 
follows energy, industry and ability. He has been one of the important fac- 
tors in the industrial and social growth of Joplin, and, although widely 
known, the esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens extends as far. 



y 



GEORGE W. STEBBINS. 



Tt is probable that there are few states in the Union that have had a more 
pronounced influence in shaping the destinies of the middle west and southwest 
than Xew York, whose sons have been pioneers and leaders in industrial and 
material progress in the new parts of our country for more than a hundred 
years. Missouri owes much to the Empire state for an important element in 
its early settlement and for an important factor for good in its later develop- 
ment. Prominent among the native sons of New York now residing within 
the borders of Jasper county, Missouri, is George \V. Stebbins, manager of 
the Spring River Stone Company, at Carthage. 

George \Y. Stebbins was born in the town of Greenwich, Washington 
county, Xew York, a son of Calvin and Eliza (Taylor) Stebbins, both natives 
of the state of New York. The American ancestry of the family of Stebbins 
came from Wales, and Luther Stebbins, the paternal grandfather of our sub- 
ject, served as a loyal American soldier in the war of 1812. Calvin Stebbins, 
who during his entire active life was a contractor and builder, died at Carth- 
age, Missouri, in 1880. Mrs. Stebbins died at Greenwich, Washington 
count}-, New York, when the subject of this sketch was little more than four 
years of age. 

When George W. Stebbins was six years of age his father took him to 
Vermont, where he attended public schools and was for a time a student at an 
academy at Charlotte. When he was sixteen years old he laid aside his 
school books to become a clerk in a store at Warrensburg, New York. Event- 
ually he went west to Chicago, thence to Galesburg, Illinois, where for five 
years he engaged in contracting and building, and later to Peoria, Illinois, 
where he made his headquarters for a year while traveling through Illinois, 
Iowa and Missouri in the interests of the Fairbanks Scale Company. From 
Peoria he went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he opened a house for that com- 



162 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

pany, which he managed for two years. From St. Louis Mr. Stebbins went 
to Carrollton, Missouri, where for live years he was the proprietor of a hard- 
ware store, which he sold in 1875 in order to remove to Carthage, where he 
gave his attention to mining. He began zinc mining in 1890, and in 1900 
organized the Spring River Stone Company, in which E. W. Johns and Henry 
C. Johns are also concerned. 

In 1873 Mr. Stebbins married Miss Elizabeth Orchard, a daughter of 
Thomas Orchard, of Carrollton, Missouri, but a native of Canada. Mr. and 
Mrs. Stebbins have two children, — Joseph C, who is connected with his father 
in business, and Ruth, who is still at home. 

J 

JOSEPH H. MYERS. 

Among the prominent mine superintendents of Jasper county, Mis- 
souri, is Joseph H. Myers, of the A No. 1 Mining Company on the Roaring 
Springs land, which he has managed for the past three years. Work was 
started here in 1899 and now four shafts are in use, the deepest one being 
one hundred and fifty feet. The ore mill has a one-hundred-ton capacity. 

The birth of Mr. Myers was in Vernon county, Missouri, and he was a 
son of William and Lucinda (Harrison) Myers, the former of whom was 
born in Germany, but came to Missouri from Tennessee and located in Ver- 
non county, where he was one of the pioneers. He was a farmer all his 
life and continued in the work until his death, in 1872, at the age of forty- 
five years. The mother of our subject, Lucinda (Harrison) Myers, was 
born, reared and married in Tennessee. 

Joseph H. Myers grew up in a mining atmosphere and very early dis- 
played interest and intelligence. in this line of industry. In 1871, while still 
a boy, he came to Joplin, and has been engaged in mine work ever since he 
has been large enough to use a pick. For a long period Mr. Myers engaged 
in the business on his own account, and has opened up some of the best mines 
in Jasper county, several of these being located on the one-thousand-acre 
tract, and the Coon Diggings on the Lloyd land. Two others which he 
opened up and during 1898 superintended were the Ella J. mine and the 
Mundy, on Turkey creek, and he owned an interest in the two productive 
mines known as the Xine Spot and the Four by Six. His principal interest, 
outside his family, has been in mining, and he has built up a fine reputation 
in that line all through this section. 

Mr. Myers was married to Miss Nina Childress, who was a native of 




JOSEPH H. MYERS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 165 

Newton county, Missouri, and two sons have been added to the family, — 
Virgil and Lewis, — the eldest being now in school. Socially Mr. Myers is 
connected with the I. O. O. F. and the Modern Woodmen, in both of which 
organizations he is respected and highly valued. His life has been one of 
industry and he has overcome many difficulties, and is now well known and 
esteemed all through the mining districts. 






W. E. EVANS. 



W. E. Evans, a prominent retired farmer of Jasper county, who resides 
in Carl Junction, was born in Butler county, Ohio, on December 7, 1844. His 
grandfather, William Evans, was born in Wales and came to Ohio as one of 
the pioneer settlers. Evan Evans, his son and the father of our subject, was 
born in Butler county, Ohio, on May 2, 1816, was married there and followed 
agricultural pursuits all his life. He married Anna Merring, who was a 
native of Morgan township, Butler county, Ohio, and still lives on the farm 
where she was born on August 11, 1826. Her father, John Merring, was one 
of the first settlers of Butler county, having come there from Maryland. He 
built the first mill in the county, at Paddy's Run, now called Shandon, and for 
many years was the leading miller in the county. The maternal grandparents 
were natives of Maryland, but their parents came from Germany. The father 
and mother of our subject had nine children, eight of whom grew to maturity, 
and seven of these still survive. 

Our subject, W. E. Evans, was the eldest in the family and is the only 
member of it who made a home in the western part of the country. He was 
reared in Ohio and received a liberal education, and also had the advantages 
afforded by the normal school at Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio. 

In October, 1861, when not yet seventeen years old, he enlisted as a private 
in Company H, Fifth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, and served three years and two 
months, being promoted to corporal, and took part in some of the most 
important battles of the war, as Shiloh and Corinth, in October, 1862, Iuka, 
Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, and was in many minor engage- 
ments, returning home after his honorable discharge on November 2~, 1864. 
without a wound or any hospital experience. 

After the term of his service was over, although he was not yet twenty 
years old, Mr. Evans returned home, well physically and strong mentally. 
He resumed farming on the home place, in Butler county, Ohio, where he 
remained until 1869, in which year he was married to Miss Elizabeth Griffiths, 



1 66 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

who was born in Montgomeryshire, North Wales, October 12, 1849, an( l was 
brought to America by her parents, David and Mariam Griffiths, when she 
was about seven years of age. She was reared and educated in Ohio. Her 
parents came from their native land and first located in Tennessee, but later 
came to Butler county. They reared a family of three children, all born in 
Wales, Mrs. Evans being the third of the children. One son, David Griffiths, 
was born to Mr. and Mrs. Evans. 

Mr. Evans removed to Jasper county the same year as his marriage, 
locating on a farm in Twin Grove township. Two years later he purchased 
another farm and improved both of these, engaging in farming until 1896, at 
which time he retired from activity and removed to Carl Junction. His land 
comprises one hundred and eighty-sevenj acres and is regarded as very 
valuable. 

Mr. Evans has always been a member of the Republican party and has 
been very active in political circles. He has filled many of the local political 
offices and was twice made city collector by a handsome majority. In the 
G. A. R. post he has been honored and has been the delegate on two occasions 
to the national encampment and once on the staff of commander in chief. 
Socially he is connected with the G. A. R., Modern Woodmen and the Horse 
Thief Protective Association, and is well and favorably known throughout 
Jasper county. 

WILLIAM M. WILLIAMS. 

V 

William M. Williams, who was one of the organizers and is now the sec- 
retary of the Webb City College, is one of the substantial, and representative 
men of his locality. His career illustrates in no uncertain manner what it is 
possible to accomplish when perseverance and determination form the keynote 
to a man's life. Depending upon his own resources, looking for no outside 
aid or support, he has risen from comparative obscurity to a position of 
prominence, and the town of Webb City owes much to him on account of his 
connection with her business interests. 

Mr. Williams is a native of McDonald county, Missouri, his birth having 
occurred on the 27th of March, 1859. His father, Moses Williams, was born 
in the state of Alabama, and when a young man, in 1832, removed with his 
father, Allen Williams, to McDonald county, Missouri, a location being made 
on Patterson creek, where they engaged in agricultural pursuits. In i860 
Moses Williams made the trip to California, and while in that state he was 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 167 

called to his final rest, passing away when our subject was only two years of 
age. He was of Welsh descent. His widow, who was in her maidenhood 
Sarah Ann Evans, survived him a number of years, dying when her son 
William was thirteen years of age. When he was two years of age his 
mother became blind, and was thus afflicted until her death. Mr. and Mrs. 
Williams were the parents of six children, but two died in infancy, and those 
who reached mature years are: Thomas B., the eldest of the family; Anna, 
deceased; John B., who resides at Lamar, Missouri; and William M., the sub- 
ject of this review. In 1866 Mrs. Williams, with her four children, removed 
to Saline county, Missouri. 

William M. Williams began the battle of life for himself when only thir- 
teen years of age, and for three years thereafter was employed as a farm hand, 
during which time he enjoyed but few educational privileges. At the age of 
sixteen years he entered a select school, known as the Professor Newton 
Academv, at Marshall. Saline county, which he attended for a part of two 
years. After leaving that institution he removed to Malta Bend, where he 
served a short apprenticeship as a carriage manufacturer, also working as a 
farm hand, and was thus engaged for about one year. Next he was engaged 
in buying timber for H. Herman, who had a branch office at Boonville, Mis- 
souri, and was thus employed for about two years, on the expiration of which 
period he removed to Kansas City and began work at his trade. On the 14th 
of September, 1882, in company with J. B. Williams and A. Christopher, he 
went to Lamar, Barton county, Missouri, and engaged in the manufacture 
of buggies, but on the 1st of July, 1890, Mr. Williams sold his interest to 
his partners and came to Webb City, where he was engaged in mining for the 
following three years. In 1893 ne originated the plan for establishing the 
Webb City College. The erection of the building was begun in that year 
and was completed in 1896. It was first known as Nelson Collegiate Institute, 
but the name has since been changed to the Webb City College. The 
institution was a success from the beginning and the average attendance now 
numbers about one hundred and fifty pupils. Mr. Williams still remains its 
popular and efficient secretary, and Webb City College owes much of its 
success to his untiring and well directed efforts. On the 1st of February, 
1900, he took up his residence where he now resides, on section 25, Mineral 
township. 

Mr. Williams was married on the 27th of March, 1884, Miss Alice Newell 
becoming his wife. She is a native of Athens county, Ohio, and in an early 
day removed from that state to Lamar. Missouri. She is a graduate of the 



1 68 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

vocal department of the Webb City College and is a lady of culture and re- 
finement. She was a member of the College Ladies' Quartette, of Webb 
City, for five years. The marriage has been blessed with one son, Royal L., 
who is attending the Webb City College, and one daughter, Amy S., who 
died in infancy. 

The Democratic party receives Mr. Williams' hearty support and socially 
he is a member of the A. O. U. W., No. 270, of Webb City, while of the 
Baptist church of this city he is a worthy and consistent member. Personally 
our subject is genial and social, enjoying good fellowship and is a most com- 
panionable friend. His life furnishes an example of energy, perseverance 
and loyalty to principle well worthy of emulation. 

7 JOSEPH C. MILLER. 

Among the men who have developed the mining interests of Jasper 
county, Missouri, none is better or more favorably known than the well 
known prospector and miner whose name appears above. Mr. Miller is a 
native of Macon county, Illinois, a son of Reason Miller, who was a pioneer 
in that part of the state from Ohio. He came to Jasper county eighteen 
years ago, and during most of the time that has elapsed since then he has been 
mining and prospecting on his own account. He helped to open up the 
Stewart mill and is now operating the Miller & Company mine on the Eleventh 
Hour lease, formerly the Stewart mine, which is the most famous mine 111 
this district, more than one million dollars having been taken out of it in 
twelve years. During the past five years it has been under the management 
of Mr. Miller, who has developed it into a very valuable property. 

Mr. Miller was married in Jasper county, Missouri, to Miss Agnes Tyler, 
a native of the state of Illinois, in 1888. She died in 1898, leaving three 
children, — Herbert F., Price M. and Edwin T. Mr. Miller is a member of 
the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He takes an intelligent interest in 
public affairs and is recognized as a public spirited and helpful citizen, who 
has done his full share for the advancement of every worthy local interest. 

^ WILLIAM C. DOWNS. 

One of the early settlers of Jasper county is William C. Downs, a vener- 
able gentleman, honored and esteemed by all who know him. He was born 
in Coshocton county, Ohio, June 16, 1828, and is a son of George H, and 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 169^ 

Olive (Pingree) Downs. The father was born and reared in New Hamp- 
shire, and in Ohio was married to Miss Pingree, who was a native of Ver- 
mont and a relative of ex-Governor Pingree, of Michigan. They removed to 
Clinton county, Indiana, where Downs owned a farm, but by trade he was a 
hatter and for many years followed that pursuit. In 1870 he removed to 
Cooper county, Missouri, where he spent his remaining days, dying at the 
age of seventy-seven years. During the greater part of his life he was a 
member of the New Light Christian church, and in his political views he was 
first a Whig and afterward a Republican. He served as justice of the peace 
and in other local offices and always discharged his duties with promptness 
and fidelity. He possessed considerable musical ability and played the fife 
with skill. When the war of 1812 was inaugurated he went to the army and 
was the captain of a company, and afterward received a pension in recognition 
of his services. His sword is now in the possession of our subject. His 
wife died in Indiana, when about seventy-three years of age. 

William C. Downs is the youngest and only surviving member of the 
family of ten children, four of whom reached mature years. He was only 
two years old when his parents removed to Clinton, Indiana, where he was 
reared and educated. Having arrived at years of maturity, he was married, 
October 17, 1850, to Sarah A. Taylor, a native of Decatur county, Indiana, 
where her girlhood days were passed. Three children who are yet living 
grace this marriage, namely: George H., who is now farming in Jasper 
county: Mary J., wife of Dr. A. B. Lull, of Washington; and Lucinda, wife 
of M. T. Borden, of California. One child, Ettie, became the wife of 
Jefferson Davis, but is now deceased. October 17, 1900, Mr. and Mrs. Downs 
celebrated their golden wedding. 

Mr. and Mrs. Downs began their domestic life in Clinton county, 
Indiana, where he was engaged in farming until the fall of 1867, when he 
came to Jasper county, Missouri, and located upon a farm, which he has since 
made his home. All of the improvements upon the place stand as monu- 
ments of his thrift and enterprise. He has a valuable tract of one hundred 
and twenty acres, richly cultivated, and is still engaged in general farming, 
although be has passed the Psalmist's span of three score years and ten. He 
is yet active and his useful business career should be the shame of many a 
man who, grown weary of the struggle and trials of business life, would 
relegate to others the burdens that he should bear. 

In his political views Mr. Downs was a Whig in early life and voted for 
Winfield Scott. He afterward gave his support to J. C. Fremont in 1856, Lin- 



i;o BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

coin in i860 and again in 1864, and once voted for Grant. Since that time 
he has not been bound by party ties, but casts his ballot as he thinks best. 
He has served as school director a long time and the cause of education finds 
in him a warm friend. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
church and has held a number of offices therein, including that of ruling elder, 
in which capacity he served for a number of years. 



* WILLIAM McWILLIAMS. 

Thoroughly identified with the agricultural interests of Jasper county, 
Missouri, is William McWilliams, who has been one of the leading farmers 
of this locality since 1867. The birth of Mr. McWilliams occurred in Ohio, 
on May 19, 1840, and he was a son of Moses and Mary (Elliott) McWilliams, 
the former of whom was a native of Ohio and the latter of Pennsylvania. 
The grandfather of our subject, for whom he was named, was William Mc- 
Williams, one of the sturdy early settlers who came to the United States from 
Ireland prior to the Revolutionary war, and used his young vigor in assisting 
his adopted country to attain independence. He later settled in Knox county, 
Ohio, where he founded his family, and there he died when full of years. 
The name of his wife was Mary Merritt. The maternal grandfather of our 
subject was Charles Elliott, who was also born in Ireland, where he married 
his wife, Jane Lee. They came to the United States in 1806 and both died in 
Knox county, Ohio. 

Moses Mc Williams, the father of our subject, was born in Belmont 
county, Ohio, and was educated in the common schools. Early in life he 
developed marked musical ability and was given the best instruction possible in 
the neighborhood and afterward became a teacher of vocal music. His later 
life was devoted to farming and his political faith was in the Democratic 
party. Eleven children were born to him and his wife, and four of these still 
survive. 

William McWilliams was reared in Ohio and received his education in 
the common schools. In 1867 he came to Jasper county with his family, where 
he immediately engaged in farming, and during these intervening years has 
been one of the most successful wheat growers of 'this locality. Mr. Mc- 
Williams owns a fine estate, consisting of one hundred and seventy-five acres, 
and devotes a portion of it to the breeding and raising of thoroughbred 
Holstein cattle and Poland China hogs, being a leader in that line in Jasper 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 171 

county. He also owns several thoroughbred Englishshire draft horses, in- 
cluding die celebrated stud Sampson, sired by Monarch. 

Air. McWilliams was married in 1863, to Miss Lydia A. Furguson, a 
native of Belmont county, Ohio, and a daughter of Hugh Furguson, who went 
from Pennsylvania to Ohio at an early day and spent his life in the latter 
state. To our subject and wife has been born a family of nine children, these 
being : Moses ; Hugh C. ; Robert Lee, who was named for the distinguished 
Robert <\Lee, the Confederate leader, who was a cousin of the mother of our 
subject , t Samuel; John; Estella; Charles; Wallace, who is a student in the 
Carthage high school, a fine scholar, and superintendent of the Sunday-school 
and president of the township Sunday-schools ; and Jennie. The family 
attend and support the Presbyterian church of Madison, Union township. 
Mr. McWilliams follows in his father's footsteps in politics, being a stanch 
supporter of Democratic principles, and is one of the most esteemed as well 
as substantial citizens of Jasper county. 

JESSE A. ZOOK. 

> 

In every department of newspaper work, the newspaper men of Missouri 
have proven their ability through many years of exacting, often arduous 
service, and Missouri is to be congratulated upon the efficiency of its news- 
paper workers. The position of mining editor is one that requires not only 
an ample knowledge of journalistic work, but special technical Knowledge of 
mining in its practical aspects as well as a thorough knowledge of the local 
mining held, its resources, its activity and its possibilities, and of all con- 
ditions under which its development is being carried on. 

The best posted mining editor of the zinc and lead district of the state 
is Jesse A. Zook, of Joplin, Jasper county, vie was born in Muncie, Indiana, 
May 19, 1863, a son of John W. and Anna M. CUttle) Zook. His parents 
were both of Pennsylvanian nativity and his father died in 1883, aged seventy- 
seven ; his mother, now aged eighty-one, resides in Muncie, Indiana. His par- 
ents immigrated to Carthage, Missouri, in October, 1869, where he received a 
common- school education until he entered the office of the Carthage Press, 
January 2, 1878, as a printer's apprentice. 

In 1 88 1, at the age of eighteen, Mr. Zook founded the Xews, a weekly 
newspaper, at Golden City, Missouri; in 1883-4 he edited the Democrat at 
El Dorado Springs, Missouri, of which Nat Cruce was the publisher; in 1885- 
6 he edited and published the Times at Webb City, coming to Joplin in 1887 



172 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

to accept a position on the Herald. From February, 1892, to June, 1896, he 
was editor and proprietor of the Register, a daily newspaper at Webb City, 
returning to the Joplin Herald, after disposing of his paper to advantage, for 
two years, then accepting a position with the Joplin News, as mining editor, 
which he continued to hold after the consolidation of the News and Herald in 
March, 1900. 

In addition to his work on the Joplin papers Mr. Zook began, in 1886, 
representing St. Louis and Kansas City papers as correspondent, sending from 
Joplin all of the statements of the weekly sales of zinc and lead ore shipped 
from the Missouri-Kansas mining district. 

He married Miss Ida Snodgress, of Webb City, November 6, 1887. She 
was born in Iowa. They have a daughter named Dixie, born December 26, 
1888, and a son named Hamilton Zook, born November 25, 1890. Matter 
of considerable interest concerning the Snodgress family is included in 
another biographical sketch which appears in this work. 

JOHN HUFF. 

Among the well-known residents of East Hollow, Galena township, Jas- 
per county, is John Huff, a successful mine operator and merchant. Mr. 
Huff was born in Noble county, Indiana, June 14, 1848, and was the son 
of Jacob and Mary (Domer) Huff. Jacob Huff was an old settler of Noble 
county, emigrating there from Tuscarawas county, Ohio, to which place his 
lather had come from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, at an early day. 

John Huff grew to manhood in Noble county, Indiana, and in 1863 
Jacob Huff, his father, sold his farm in Noble county, Indiana, and moved 
to the northern part of La Grange county, same state, adjoining Noble 
county. In January, 1865, John Huff enlisted in Company F, One Hundred 
and Fifty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served in the Army of the 
Potomac. Next, in the spring of 1866, Jacob Huff sold his farm in La 
Grange county, Indiana, and moved to Mercer county, Missouri, and lived 
there eight years and then sold out his farm at that place and moved to Clark 
county, Washington Territory, where he lived until his death several years 
ago. 

John Huff was married in Mercer county, Missouri, in 1872, to Miss 
Esther Combs, and to them three sons were born, — Joshua, Claud and Ivan. 
The oldest son, Joshua, married Miss Paxton, of Pierce City, and resides in 
Houston, Texas, where he is engaged as a conductor on the railroad, on the 




JOHN HUFF. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY. 17 s 

East and West road. Claud, the second son, married Miss Mabel Blunk, of 
Granby, and they reside in Monett, Missouri, where he has a position as 
express messenger for the Wells-Fargo Company on the St. Louis and San 
Francisco Railway. Ivan, the youngest son, is with his brother in Houston, 
Texas, where he has a position as fireman on the East and West road. 

The second marriage of Mr. Huff was to Miss Annie M. Stong, daugh- 
ter of Frederick and Elizabeth Stong, of Tullahoma, Tennessee, and their 
residence is in East Hollow. 

For a period of ten years Mr. Huff followed farming in Mercer county, 
Missouri, but in 1876 came to Cherokee county, Kansas. In 1877 he began 
business in Brownsville in general merchandise, and was also first postmaster 
at Brownsville. In the same year he was interested in the grocery business, 
also mining in Galena. Later he moved to Crestline, Kansas, where he en- 
gaged in general merchandise and was also postmaster at that place, and in 
1887 he came to East Hollow, Jasper county, where he opened up a general 
store and also engaged in mining. Afterward he sold out his store and en- 
gaged in the livery business, in which he is engaged at this time. 

In politics he is a Republican, and is socially connected with the Work- 
men, the G. A. R., the Knights and Ladies of Security and the Odd Fel- 
lows. Mr. Huff is a good business man and has been identified with much 
of the progress of this part of the county. His standing in the commun- 
ity is excellent and he is one of the representative men of East Hollow. 

JACOB W. DIETRICH. 

Jacob William Dietrich has reached the eightieth milestone on life's jour- 
ney, but possesses the vigor of a much younger man and in spirit and interests 
seems yet in his prime. He was formerly connected with the milling industry 
in Carthage, but is now living retired, his indefatigable labor and persever- 
ance in former years having brought to him capital sufficient to supply him 
with all the comforts of life. 

Mr. Dietrich was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, near Beth- 
lehem, September 23, 1821, and is a son of Joseph and Sarah (Miller) Diet- 
rich, both of whom were also natives of the Keystone state. The father was 
a son of Jacob and Mary (Lloar) Dietrich, who were early settlers of North- 
ampton county and were of German descent. The father of our subject was a 
miller by trade and through that means provided for the support of his family, 

numbering six children, four sons and two daughters, three of whom are yet 
10 



176 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

living. Jacob W. Dietrich acquired a good common-school education and 
for a time attended the Moravian College, at Bethlehem. After he left col- 
lege the family moved to a point about midway between Easton and Bethle- 
hem. There he remained until the early part of 1858, when he went to 
Easton and learned the apothecary business, remaining in that city for four 
years. In 1842 he entered the laboratory of Professor Robert Hare, of 
Philadelphia, where he remained two years, when, in 1844, he engaged in the 
apothecary business as a clerk, remaining in that position until 1849. J llne : 
of that year, he went to Dayton, Ohio, where he opened for himself an 
apothecary business, which he conducted with success until 1861. At the 
earnest solicitation of his friends he then became a candidate on the Repub- 
lican ticket for the office of county auditor, and, being elected to that position, 
he then sold out his business. He held the office for five years, and on the 
expiration of his term of service he engaged in the wholesale drug business, 
and, although continuing in that line of trade, he assisted, in 1867, in the 
organization of the Merchants National Bank of Dayton, becoming one of its 
directors. About 1871 he sold his interest in the drug business and for a time 
thereafter lived retired. In 1881 he came west to Carthage, Missouri, pur- 
chasing an interest in a flouring mill in Galesburg, Jasper county, the prop- 
erty being situated on the Spring river. For a time he was associated in the 
enterprise with Walter Putnam and later with Alexander Mason, formerly 
from Iowa. Subsequently he formed a partnership with S. E. Wetzel, under 
the firm name of Dietrich & Wetzel, and the firm built up a large and 
profitable business, the mill having a capacity of one hundred and fifty barrels 
per dav. That partnership was continued from 1888 until 1898 with mutual 
pleasure and profit, and Mr. Dietrich then disposed of his interest and again 
retired from active business. His life has been one of industry and enter- 
prise, and these qualities, supplemented by sound business judgment and 
sagacitv, have enabled him to win a handsome competence. He takes great 
interest in electricity and its workings, an interest which was awakened during 
his earlv life. Dunng the time when the investigations and experiments 
were being carried on concerning the Morse system, he had charge of the 
batteries and their operation, and from that time he has watched the progress 
that has been made in electrical circles, the subject being one which engrosses 
his earnest attention. 

In 1852 occurred the marriage of Mr. Dietrich and Miss Susan Y. 
Oblinger, of Dayton, Ohio. She was born and reared in that city, and after 
traveling life's journey by her husband's side for forty-three years was called 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 177 

to her final rest. She died leaving one son, Clark McDermot, a graduate 
of the Cincinnati Medical College and also of the New York Medical College. 
He became prominent in his profession, but his career was terminated in death 
December 10, 1898. In that year Mr. Dietrich erected his fine residence in 
Carthage. He is nearing the eightieth anniversary of his birth, but is hale and 
hearty and is a familiar figure on the streets of the city. He is remarkably 
well preserved, being strong and active and with good eyesight and hearing, 
and it is the wish of his many friends that he may long be spared. There is 
in his life record much that is worthy of emulation and in his upright career 
he has won that good name which is rather to be chosen than great riches. 

S. B. WILLIAMS. 

S. B. Williams, who is holding the important and responsible position 
of national pension agent for Jasper county, was born in Montgomery county, 
Illinois, April 1, 1834. The grandfather of our subject, Joseph Williams, 
was a native of Kentucky, and was there reared and married. He after- 
ward became one of the early pioneers of Montgomery county, Illinois. His 
life occupation was that of a farmer. The family is of Welsh descent. 
David Williams, the father of our subject, was also a native of Kentucky, but 
when eight years of age removed with his parents to Illinois, a location being 
made in Montgomery county, where David M. followed agricultural pursuits. 
He subsequently took up his abode in Kansas, where he passed away in 1861. 
He was prominent in the ranks of the Republican party, and for many years 
served his county as a justice of the peace. He voted for Fremont in" 1856. 
In his religious affiliations he was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
church. The mother of our subject, nee Mary Bartlett, was born and reared 
in Kentucky, and lived to the age of seventy-two years. Her father, Samuel 
Bartlett, was a native of the Old Dominion and of English descent. He sub- 
sequently left the state of his birth and took up his residence in Kentucky. 
Unto David M. and Mary (Bartlett) Williams were born five children who 
grew to years of maturity. 

S. B. Williams, the eldest child in the above family, was reared and edu- 
cated in the county of his nativity, and his education was there received in the 
district and select schools. He remained under the parental roof until twenty- 
three years of age, and after reaching his twenty-first year he followed school 
teaching until the breaking out of the Civil war, when, his patriotic spirit 
being aroused, he enlisted for service in Company D, Thirty-second Iowa 



178 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Volunteer Infantry, as a private. He entered the army in 1862, and for three 
years served his country as a gallant and intrepid soldier. He was with A. 
J. Smith's Sixteenth Army Corps, and participated in the battles of Little 
Rock, Helena and Brownsville, Arkansas, where he was shot through the left 
breast, and for thirteen months was confined at Little Rock and Murfreesboro. 
He was then sent north to Camp Douglas, Chicago, where he was engaged 
in guard duty, and was honorably discharged at Cairo, Illinois, to which 
place he had been sent to do guard duty. After the close of hostilities and 
when the country no longer needed his services Mr. Williams returned to his 
home in Montgomery county, where he again took up the quiet duties of 
the farm, also teaching school during the winter months. He followed the 
dual occupation until about 1873, when he went to Salina, Kansas, there 
following agricultural pursuits for two years. On the expiration of that 
period he came to Jasper county, Missouri, locating on a farm in Duval town- 
ship, where he followed farming through the summer months and taught 
school during the winters at Cedar Bluffs, Sunnyside and Alba. In 1885 
he located on a farm in Mineral township, remaining there until 1890, when 
he took up his residence in Alba. Here he has since remained, and his genial 
nature and true worth have gained and retained for him the love and esteem 
of many friends. 

In 1856 occurred the marriage of Mr. Williams and Miss Mary A. Jones, 
a native of Harrison county, Indiana, but reared in Montgomery county, 
Illinois. She is a daughter of Hardy and Matilda (Nicholson) Jones, who 
became early settlers of Montgomery county, Illinois, and were of Irish and 
English descent. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have become the parents of six 
children, namely: Mary M., the wife of George McClellan, a painter of 
Hillsboro, Illinois; Martha E., the wife of George Morris, a machinist of Bell- 
ville, this state; Joseph C, deceased; Dora A., the wife of W. E. Robbins, 
whose sketch appears in this volume ; Ida M., the wife of Samuel Cather, who 
is engaged in business with Mr. Robbins ; and Orlando, a resident of Jasper 
county. In his political affiliations Mr. Williams is a stanch supporter of 
Republican principles, and in 1856 he cast his first presidential vote for Fre- 
mont, having ever since continued an active worker in the party's ranks. 
While a resident of Montgomery county, Illinois, he held the office of justice 
of the peace for eight years, and in Jasper county he has filled that responsible 
position for fourteen years. He has also served as township clerk and has 
held many other positions of honor and trust. At one time he was a candid- 
date for assessor, but as the county had a Democratic majority of about six 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 179 

hundred votes he was defeated, although he ran ahead of his ticket, coming 
within one hundred and seven votes of winning the election. He is now 
serving as national pension agent. 

In his social relations Mr. Williams is a member of the Grand' Army of 
the Republic, holding membership in Post No. 559, in which he has served as 
senior vice-commander. He was made a Mason in the '60s, in Donaldson, 
Lodge No. 255, of Illinois. Religiously he is a member of the Friends 
church. 

^ FRANK HAVEN. 

Frank Haven, who is a member of the firm of Haven Brotners, proprie- 
tors of livery, feed, sale and boarding stables, of Carthage, Missouri, is one 
of the successful business citizens of this place. His birth occurred in Saline 
county, Kansas, in December, 1866, and he was a son of Charles and Lucetta 
(Thacker) Haven, the former of whom was born in Ludlow, Vermont, and 
the latter at Jacksonville, Illinois. She was a daughter of Jesse Thacker, who 
was one of the pioneers in Jasper county, Missouri, settling here in 1841, and 
here both parents spent their last days. 

For a number of years Charles Haven was a merchant in Vermont and 
remained there until 1854, when he took his family to Saline county, Kansas, 
removing thence to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1868. Flere he settled on a 
farm located one and one-half miles north of Carthage, where the family lived 
until 1875, when they went to Kansas City, Missouri, thence to Belton, Cass 
county, where Mr. Haven was postmaster for a number of years. 

Frank Haven attended school in Carthage and later in Belton, but at the 
age of twelve years began to shape his own business career. He engaged in 
various lines of labor prior to his twenty-fifth year, but in 1890 he opened a 
grocery business at Carthage and two years later sold this to establish his 
livery business, which has engaged his attention since that time. In 1897 the 
business had grown to such proportions that he found it necessary to erect 
larger quarters and built the commodious brick barn, fifty by one hundred feet, 
capable of affording accommodations for forty horses. Mr. Haven has fitted 
up his establishment in modern style and all of the equipments are of first- 
class character. 

The marriage of Mr. Haven occurred in 1890, the lady of his choice being 
Miss P. L. Wacle, who was born in Michigan, and is a daughter of M. C. and 
Mary Wacle. Four children have been born to them, namely : Ina, Edna, 
Franklin, Jr., and Mary. 



i8o BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

In all public affairs in Carthage, Mr. Haven has taken a leading position. 
He is the efficient secretary of the Market Fair Association, and it is acknowl- 
edged that he has probably done more than any other man in this part of the 
state to improve the grade of trotting horses. For many years he has been 
a breeder of standard trotters and pacers, one of these being the celebrated 
"Jennie Haven," which animal has a record of 2.21 in the race for speed. 
During the winter of 1900-01 he bought and shipped three hundred horses, 
shipping principally to Louisiana points. Although Mr. Haven began his 
business life with small means, by his energy, ability, good judgment and 
industry he has accumulated much property. Two of the finest farms in 
Jasper county belong to him, these being located about four miles west of 
this city. He is one of the enterprising and progressive men who build up 
business and make a section prosperous. 

JOHN WAMPLER. 

Prominent among the general farmers and large landholders of Jasper 
county is John Wampler, who resides on section 29, in Marion township, and 
was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, five miles northwest of Dayton, on 
December 18, 1829. His grandfather was David Wampler, who was born in 
Maryland and was a farmer there. He was a prominent member of the 
German Baptist church and came of German ancestry. Philip Wampler,. 
the father of our subject, was born in Frederick county, Maryland, about 
thirty miles from Baltimore, January 10, 1790. He was a carpenter by trade 
and was employed in Baltimore. About 1824 he removed to the vicinity of 
Canton, Ohio, where he lived a short time, removing thence to Dayton 
where he followed agricultural pursuits until his death in the eighty-ninth 
year of his age. He was a most worthy man and a prominent minister in the 
German Baptist church. The mother of our subject was, prior to her mar- 
riage, Catherine Rover, and she was born in Maryland, in February, 1797, a 
daughter of Peter Rover, who was born in Pennsylvania and was a con- 
sistent member of the German Baptist church. 

John Wampler was the fifth son in the family of twelve children born to 
his parents, and he was reared on the home farm. His school advantages 
were the best afforded by the locality and the time, these consisting of a pretty 
thorough knowledge of the rudimentary branches of learning. On Decem- 
ber 18, 1 85 1, Mr. Wampler was married to Susannah Miller, whose father 
had located in Ohio when she was eighteen years of age, coming thither from 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 181 

Pennsylvania. Mrs. Wampler died in 1896, having been the kind and loving 
mother of ten children, their names being: Mary; Benjamin; Margaret; 
Daniel; Wilson; Susanna, deceased; Elizabeth; Emma; Catherine; and Ira. 
A remarkable fact is that none of the children or thirty-four grandchildren 
have died through illness, but two died by accident. 

Mr. Wampler came to Jasper county October 8, 1873, and located on the 
farm which he now occupies. Prior to this he had spent some fifteen years 
in the nursery business in Ohio. He invested extensively in land, at one time 
owning one thousand acres, and had four hundred acres in one body ; he n< >w 
retains but one hundred and sixty-seven acres for his own use, having sold 
and given his children the remainder. Air. Wampler was reared in the faith 
of the German Baptist church. He lives somewhat retired from active labor, 
and is justly regarded as one of the substantial men of this locality. 






H. L. ISHERWOOD, M. D. 



Among tire prominent physicians of Jasper county, Missouri, is Dr. H. L. 
Isherwood, of Carl Junction, who was born in Mount Vernon, Linn county, 
Iowa, on August 1, 1850. He traces his American ancestry to Robert Isher- 
wpod, his grandfather, who came from England about the time of the Revolu- 
tionary war, and settled in the state of Pennsylvania. His son, the Rev. T. 
C. Isherwood, who became the father of our subject, Avas born in Pennsyl- 
vania, and removed to Iowa about 1849. By occupation he was a farmer and 
also a grain dealer, while for a great many years he was a minister in the 
Methodist church. His useful life ended when he was about seventy-five 
years of age. 

The beloved mother of Dr. Isherwood was in her maidenhood Miss Polly 
Lowery, who was born in West Newton, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Dr. 
Stephen Lowery, a well-known physician of West Newton, of Scotch-Irish 
descent. She now resides with her one daughter, Mattie A., in Mount Ver- 
non, Iowa, and has passed her ninetieth year. Pier three sons are : Dr. Isher- 
wood, of this sketch; T. G., a practicing physician in Chicago; and A. D., a 
stockman of the far west. 

The early education of Dr. Isherwood was acquired in the public schools 
and then he prepared for Cornell College, at which he was graduated in 1876, 
receiving successively the degrees of bachelor of science and master of 
science. His reading and study from earliest youth had been in the direction 



182 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

of medicine, and as an enthusiastic student he entered Rush Medical College 
in 1878. 

Dr. Isherwood first located for practice in Clarksville, Butler county, 
Iowa, and remained there for about two years, coming then to Jasper county, 
and locating in Carl Junction in 18S2. Since that time he has been actively 
and successfully engaged in practice and has won the confidence of a continu- 
ally increasing list of grateful patients. 

Dr. Isherwood was married in 1888 to Miss May Coons, who was born 
in Wisconsin, and to this marriage three children have been born : Hortense 
L.. Niena M. and Eber Dudley. Dr. Isherwood has been one of the most 
prominent and active members of the Democratic party in the county. For 
the past ten years he has been a member of the Democratic county committee, 
and in 1892 was elected to the thirty-seventh general assembly from the 
western district of Jasper county. He has been a member of both city and 
county medical societies and is fraternally connected with the Masonic, the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Knights of Pythias, and with other 
orders. 

One of the large farms of Jasper county belongs to Dr. Isherwood, con- 
sisting of two hundred and forty acres of land, well improved and very valu- 
able, and he has also invested in some mining enterprises. Both as a public- 
spirited citizen and skillful physician he is highly esteemed, and is most 
assuredly one of the real representative men of this great, prosperous and 
important county. 

V JAMES F. PURCELL. 

James Frederick Purcell is a representative of one of the pioneer families 
of Jasper county, and was born in this county at the family home near Alba, 
May 12, 1856. His paternal grandparents were James and Rachel (Falker) 
Purcell, and the father of our subject was John Purcell, a native of Hardin 
county, Kentucky, born July 22, 1818. On leaving the place of his nativity 
he became a resident of Henry county, Missouri, removing" thence to Jasper 
county in 1843. He settled upon a farm near what is now Alba, and finally 
became owner of six hundred acres of land that he transformed into' a highly 
cultivated farm supplied with all modern improvements. There he spent the 
remainder of his days, becoming one of the leading and representative agri- 
culturists of this part of the state. Fie gave the site for the Quaker mill on 
Spring river, and was deeply interested in the growth and upbuilding of the 




JAMES F. PURCELL. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 185 

county, to which he contributed in no small degree through the development 
of its agricultural resources. With the exception of three years, which he 
spent in Kansas during the Civil war, he continuously remained on the home 
farm and there spent his last days. For six years he served as judge of the 
county court of Jasper county and gave uniform satisfaction by the just and 
impartial manner in which he discharged his duties. In his political views 
he was first a Whig and afterward an Independent. 

John Purcell was twice married. On the 14th of August, 1839, he 
wedded Lucy Ann Stith, who died July I, 1850, leaving three children: 
Benjamin F., Mary J. and George D. For his second wife the father 
chose Miss Elizabeth C. Bowers, a native of Ohio. Their wedding was cele- 
brated August 27, 1 85 1. The lady was born in Darke county, Ohio, January 
19, 1825, and was of Holland lineage, the family having been founded in 
America by Frederick Bowers, who was born near Amsterdam, Holland, 
April 3, 1730, and in 1743 came to the new world, locating in Adams county, 
Pennsylvania. The parents of Mrs. Purcell were Frederick and Mary 
(Sharp) Bowers, who were married October 6, 181 7, in Pickaway county, 
Ohio, and afterward removed to Miami county. Subsequently they took up 
their abode in Darke county, and in 1841 Mr. Bowers removed his family to 
Lawrence county, Missouri, locating at what is known as Bovvers Mills. He 
built a mill on Spring river and engaged in the manufacture of flour, lumber 
and woolen goods until a short time prior to his death, which occurred Decem- 
ber 28, 1848. His wife, who survived him for some time, died at the home 
of her daughter, Mrs. John Purcell. The parents of our subject began their 
domestic life in a log cabin and in the early days experienced many of the 
hardships and difficulties of pioneer life. When the father first came to the 
county he traded one of his horses for his claim, and during the high water 
in the spring of 1844 the other horse was drowned. He worked by the day 
for twenty-five cents per day and at night engaged in making shoes for 
twenty-five cents per pair. As time passed, however, the comforts and con- 
veniences of the east were introduced, crops brought a good financial return 
and the family became well situated in a pleasant home. By the second 
marriage there are four living children: Cordelia E. ; James F. ; Daniel B., 
who is living in Oregon ; and Franz Siegel, who is living on a part of the 
old homestead in Mineral township, Jasper county. The mother died April 
5, 1884, and the father, surviving her only a brief period, passed away on the 
30th of October of the same year. 

James F. Purcell, whose name introduces this review, is indebted to the 



1 86 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

district schools for the educational privileges which he enjoyed in his youth. 
He remained upon the home farm a greater part of the time until twenty- 
four years of age and assisted in the labors of field and meadow. He 
learned the trade of carpentering with his half-brother, Benjamin F., and 
then engaged in contracting and building, and also carried on agricultural 
pursuits in connection with his building interests. In 1890 he was elected 
sheriff of Jasper county, serving" for two years, and on the expiration of the 
first term was made the candidate of the Democratic and Populist parties, 
opposing W. S. Crane, the Republican candidate. He was then elected and 
served for two years more. He discharged his duties in a most prompt, 
efficient and laudable manner, and on the expiration of his time retired from 
office and turned his attention to lead and zinc mining in Jasper county. He 
was one of the organizers of the Rubber Neck Mining Company, and is now 
actively concerned in developing the mineral resources of this portion of 
the state. 

Mr. Purcell was married, on the 8th of February, 1877, to Miss Mary E. 
Draper, of Jasper county, a daughter of Jesse and Naomi (Johnson) Draper. 
She died April 10, 1880, leaving two children, Philip L. and Ralph D. For 
his second wife Mr. Purcell chose Rebecca A. Sims, who became his wife on 
the 22d of April, 1884. They also have two children, Frederick Carlton and 
Cora Ethel. Our subject is a member of Carthage Lodge, F. & A. M., also 
of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, and is a worthy representative of the 
beneficent principles of these organizations. 



J 



BENJAMIN F. RINEHART. 



Benjamin F. Rinehart, who resides on section 29, Jackson township, 
Jasper county, Missouri, is one of the successful and substantial farmers of 
this section. He was born in Owen county, Indiana, September 23, 1856, and 
was a son of M. K. and Sophia (Hoobler) Rinehart, the former of whom was 
born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, but came to Jasper county, Missouri, in 
1866. He is living a retired life at present, in Carthage, Missouri. The 
mother of our- subject was born in Ohio, April 6, 1825, and her death occurred 
September 6, 1900. A family of five children were born to the parents of our 
subject, these being: Mahala M., the wife of C. D. Hill, of Kansas City, 
Missouri; Benjamin Franklin; Philip H., of Jackson township, Tasper county; 
Isabel L., the wife of S. P. Shaffer, of Jackson township; and Lucinda Jane, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 187 

the wife of D. M. Guinn, who resides eighteen miles northeast of Fort Scott, 
Kansas. 

Mr. Rinehart, who is our subject, was nine years old when the family 
removal was made to Morgan county, Missouri, and there he lived until 1866 
when he came to Jasper county, the following year. His education was 
received in Jackson township and he grew up at home, assisting in the work on 
the farm. In 1878 he was united in marriage to Sarah E. Hazel wood, who 
was a native of Jasper county, and who was the daughter of F. J. and H. J. 
(Onstott) Hazelwood, who were early settlers of Jasper county. Mrs. Rhine- 
hart is the eldest of six children and received her education in this county. A 
family of nine children was born to our subject and wife, these being: 
Charles A., Oscar A., Marion F., Effie, Lula, Nora, John A., Jennie and 
Findley F., all of whom are at home, the sons assisting their father on the 
farm, and all are natives of Jasper county. 

Following his marriage Mr. Rinehart settled in Union township where he 
engaged in general farming until 1900, when he located on his present well cul- 
tivated and productive farm, which consists oi two hundred and eighty acres. 
He carries on general farming and uses one two-horse team and two three- 
horse teams in cultivating his land. His sons have grown up to industrious 
habits and he is able to manage his large estate with little outside assistance. 

In his political belief Mr. Rinehart is a Democrat and is now serving a 
term as road commissioner, and for nine years was one of the school directors 
of his township. His membership in the United Brethren church has been 
long and consistent and his place is seldom vacant at any of the services. In 
the county he is regarded with respect and esteem and his honesty and integrity 
make of him one of the best citizens of Jasper county. 



7 



C. A. RICE. 



C. A. Rice, the capable superintendent of the Missouri Blanket Vein, 
at Prosperity, Jasper county, Missouri, is a native of Buckland, Linn county, 
Missouri, and was a son of L. M. and Fanny (Letteer) Rice, both of whom 
were natives of Pennsylvania. The maternal grandparents are now residents 
of Linn county, Missouri, where the father of our subject was one of the 
early settlers. 

Prior to coining to Jasper county Mr. Rice was the efficient superintend- 
ent of a mine in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The plant at Prosperity has three 
shafts, two hundred and thirty feet deep, with a two-hundred-ton mill. Both 



1 88 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

of these plants require a superintendent of ability and experience, and A. R. 
Anthony, of Wilkesbarre, who is the manager of both the North American 
Coal Company of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, and the Missouri Blanket Vein 
p.t Prosperity, Missouri, selected Mr. Rice for the responsible position he now 
holds, after his year of satisfactory work for the North American Company. 
Here he has full charge, and the results indicate that no better man could have 
been selected. 

Mr. Rice was married to Miss Ida Schooley, of Wilkesbarre, Pennsyl-' 
vania, October 25, 1893, and they have one son, Russell L. 

ALBERT C. WEBB. 

Among the progressive men who have done much for the progress and 
advancement of Webb City, Missouri, is Albert C. Webb, who was born on 
a farm near Carl Junction, in Jasper county, Missouri, on September 9, 1877, 
a son of William and Eliza A. (Jameson) Webb, both of whom were pio- 
neers in Jasper county. 

Albert C. Webb is one of the educated young men who has used his 
knowledge in the upbuilding of a large and successful business. After at- 
tendance upon the common schools of the county, he was sent to the Pierce 
City school, in Lawrence county, where he took a course of three years, and 
then entered the State University, at Columbia, Missouri, and continued 
there through the junior year. 

After his return Mr. Webb engaged in zinc and lead mining and suc- 
cessfully followed that business for five years, but in 1900 became interested 
in his present line At that time he bought out the livery stock of B. F. 
Clayton, of Carterville, and continued there until his own buildings were 
completed. The building now occupied in Webb City is an imposing struc- 
ture, three stories high, with dimensions sixty by one hundred feet, and the 
whole front is faced with buff brick. All modern devices and conveniences 
have been used to make this one of the most complete buildings of its kind 
in southwestern Missouri. The box stalls are unusually large, and it is what 
it pretends to be, a "home" for horses, as arrangements have been made for 
the care of sick animals by a veterinary surgeon. Mr. Webb takes a 
pardonable pride in his fine array of vehicles of every kind, and they would 
do credit to a much larger city. This building is an ornament to Webb 
City and was erected at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars. Mr. Webb is a 
fine horseman himself and one of the best judges of their good points in this 




ALBERT C. WEBB. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 191 

locality. They respond to his affection, and few animals come under his 
care that do not feel the magnetism of his presence. 

Mr. Webb was married on December 9, 1896, to Miss Olive Stires, of 
Carl Junction, Missouri, a daughter of David Stires, one of the early set- 
tlers of the county. One son, Eugene V., has been born of this marriage. 
Mr. Webb is a member of several fraternal societies, these being the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Canton, the Knights of Pythias, the 
Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, in all of which he is deservedly popular. 



/ 



E. D. SMITH. 



E. D. Smith, one of the owners and the superintendent of the Inde- 
pendence mine, has been largely instrumental in developing the natural re- 
sources of this section of the state, and his labors have not alone contributed 
to his individual prosperity, but have also' largely promoted the material in- 
terests of Missouri. He claims Iowa as the state of his nativity, his birth 
having occurred in Clinton county. His father, M. O. Smith, became a resi- 
dent of that county in 1844, settling at Maquoketa, where he remained until 
1876. He then became a farmer of Grundy county. 

E. D. Smith, the subject of this review, is a mining expert, and for a 
number of years he has been identified with the important work of taking 
from the mountain side the rich mineral deposits and securing the valuable 
metals that they may be used in connection with the commercial activity of 
the nation. He is now part owner and superintendent of the Independence 
mine, which is located on the Robert Miller land. Mr. Smith first opened 
the mine in partnership with J. A. Graves, of Chicago-, and together they own 
and operate this valuable property, on which is a hundred-ton mill and two 
shafts, each one hundred and fifty feet. They have a first lease of one hun- 
dred and forty-six acres and four sub-leases on the land. This mine is one 
of the best producers in the locality, and in fact surpasses many of the other 
mines. For the past four years Mr. Smith has followed mining operations 
in different parts of this locality, and his unfaltering" perseverance and unflag- 
ging enterprise and sound judgment have gained him rank among the fore- 
most business men of his state. Before coming to Missouri he followed 
merchandising, and in that vocation he also met with a very creditable degree 
of success. 

As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Smith chose 



192 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Miss Anna E. Crow, a native of Delaware county, Iowa. In his social rela- 
tions he is a Mason, and in his daily life exemplifies the ennobling principles 
of the craft. 

V S. W. HOPKINS, M. D. 

The standing of every profession is marked by the character of the men . 
who represent it, and the reputation of Dr. S. W. Hopkins stands second to 
none in the county as a successful and popular physician. He is a native son 
of Missouri, his birth having occurred in Taney county, on the 27th of Octo- 
ber, 1844. He is a son of Josiah and Mahala (Phebus) Hopkins. The 
paternal grandfather, William Hopkins, removed from Ohio to Iowa, where 
he spent his remaining days. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Eliza- 
beth Hornback, was an aunt of Judge Hornback, who died near Carthage. 
Josiah Hopkins was born in Ohio, in 181 3, and received his education in the 
University of Ohio, later becoming a minister in the United Brethren church. 
His death occurred in Kansas, to which state he had removed from Iowa, 
passing away in Miami county, on the 17th of July, 1867. The mother of 
our subject was a daughter of John Phebus, who was born in Scotland but 
came to the United States when young, locating in Iowa, where his death 
afterward occurred. He married Barbara Steward, and she also departed 
this life in Iowa. Unto Josiah and Mahala (Phebus) Hopkins were born 
eight children, our subject being now the only living representative of the 
family. The father served in the Union army during the Civil war, becom- 
ing a lieutenant in Company A, Tenth Iowa Infantry, and was afterward 
made major of the Forty-fourth Iowa Infantry. During his service he 
received a slight wound. 

S. W. Hopkins, whose name introduces this review, was taken to Polk 
county, Iowa, when four years of age, and there received his education in 
the common schools and in Lane University, graduating in the latter institu- 
tion in 1866. He then entered the school room as an instructor, following 
that profession for ten years in Iowa and Kansas. Choosing - the profession 
of medicine as a life occupation, he attended lectures in Louisville, Kentucky, 
where he graduated in 1879, and then began the active practice of his pro- 
fession at Bower's Mill, where he remained for four years. On the expiration 
of that period he came to Sarcoxie, Jasper county, where, with the exception of 
about one year spent on the Pacific coast, he has ever since remained, and has 
built up a large and constantly growing patronage. The Doctor is a member 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 193 

of the Southwest Missouri Medical Association, of which he was president for 
one term and treasurer for two terms, and was also president of the Jasper 
County Medical Association. During Harrison's administration he was ap- 
pointed president of the United States examining board of pensions, and so 
ably did he discharge the duties entrusted to his care that during President 
Mckinley's first administration he was re-appointed to the position He is a 
stanch Republican in his political affiliations, but he has never been an aspirant 
for political honors, as his extensive medical practice claims his entire time 
and attention. In his social relations the Doctor is a member of Sarcoxie 
Lodge. No. 248, I. O. O. F. 

In 1867 occurred the marriage of Dr. Hopkins and Miss Candace A 
Sill, a daughter of Judge Sill, of Green Castle, Indiana, and a cousin of the 
wife ot Professor Ridpath, the noted historian. Unto this union has been 
born three sons. The eldest, Albert R., was born August 26, 1869, and after 
graduating in the high school at Sarcoxie he removed to Chicago, Illinois, and 
became an employe in a book-binding and job printing establishment. He is 
now engaged in the book-binding and printing business in Stockton, California 
He married May B. Lowell, of Riverside, California, and they have one daugh- 
ter, Edna, born November 15, 1896. The second son, James E., was born 
on the 30th of March, 1 871, is a graduate of the Sarcoxie high school, and is 
now station agent on the Southern Pacific Railroad at King City, California. 
The youngest son, Herman D., was born September 15, 1876. and after com- 
pleting the high school course of this city he learned the linotype printing 
business, becoming an expert in that line of work, and he is now engaged with 
the Kansas City Times. Dr. Hopkins has devoted the greater part of his life 
to the art of healing and to the relief of the suffering. He is indeed the loved 
family physician in many a household, and the value of his services to the com- 
munity cannot be over-estimated. 

EDWARD L. AXDERSOX. 

The mining interests of Joplin are well represented by Edward L. Ander- 
son, a leading and enterprising citizen, whose well-directed efforts and unfal- 
tering industry are bringing to him a creditable and satisfactory success. 
Since 1896 he has carried on operations in Jasper county, and he is now hold- 
ing the responsible position of president of the Bogna Mining Company. 

Air. Anderson is a Kentuckian by birth, having first opened his eyes to 
the light of day in Paducah, that state. His father, E. L. Anderson, was a 



194 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY. 

native of the Blue Grass state. His mother was in her maidenhood Miss 
Mary Norton, and was a daughter of John L. Norton, of Russellville, Ken- 
tucky. She was a sister of Judge Elijah H. Norton, who for thirty years 
served as circuit judge of Platte county, Missouri, and for twenty years was 
supreme judge of the state of Missouri. He is now living retired from the 
active duties of life, although he still owns large mining interests in New- 
ton and Jasper counties, his landed possessions aggregating about one thou- 
sand acres. 

Mr. Anderson, of this review, married Miss Elizabeth Field, a native 
of Platte county, Missouri, and a daughter of Dr. G. W. Field. Our subject 
came to his present location from Platte county, Missouri, and during his 
residence in Jasper county he has steadily worked his way upward to a posi- 
tion among its prominent citizens. He ranks very high as an honorable and 
successful representative of his chosen calling, and well deserves mention 
among the worthy citizens of his adopted state. 



/ 



STEPHEN A. SMITH. 



Iowa, a progressive state, has given to Missouri, another progressive 
state, some of its most progressive citizens. One Iowan who has achieved 
success in Missouri is Stephen A. Smith, of Joplin, Jasper county. Mr. 
Smith is a native of Mills county, Iowa, a son of Chauncey and Caroline 
(Hopper) Smith. His father, who was born in Massachusetts, came to Jop- 
lin from Iowa in 1876 and died in 1892, at the age of sixty-six years. His 
mother, who was a native of Pennsylvania, is living at Joplin, aged sixty- 
nine years. 

In 1878, before Mr. Smith was scarcely large enough to take up the 
battle of life for himself, he commenced teaming, and continued that occupa- 
tion until 1885, when he quit it and turned to mining, to which he has given 
his attention from that day to this. All in all, he has had very good success, 
and has opened up several first-class mines. His first mining for himself 
was on the Loyd & Guin land, known now as the Missouri Lead and Zinc 
Company's land. It proved to be a big producer in lead and zinc, and he 
was superintendent and general manager of that mine. It was known as 
Smith, League & Company's mine. He worked this mine until 1889, and 
then commenced prospecting at Gordon Hollow, and made a fairly good strike 
at that place, operating it for six months, and sold out for a very good price. 
He was superintendent of the Crossman Mining Company for three years, 




STEPHEH A. SMITH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 197 

and he was transferred from there to the mine called the Bell Buoy, still op- 
erating for the same company, and was connected with that concern in one 
capacity or another for about six years, and then turned his attention to 
mining for himself. 

Again he leased ground on the Gregory lease known as the Rex Mining 
Company's ground, and opened up another big paying mine known as Myers, 
Smith & Company's mine, working this mine till 1897, and then he took 
charge of the famous June mine as superintendent, working at that place 
for two years, and while superintending at that place he was also prospect- 
ing for himself and opened up the famous Nine Spot, known now as the 
Essex, and also the Four by Six mine, both of which were sold advan- 
tageously by the company of which he was a member, and then he became 
superintendent for the Massasoit Mining Company, remaining there one 
year, and later on opened the Friday mine on Massasoit lease, and at this 
time has two shafts sunk to a depth of one hundred and ten feet, both of 
which are being worked with good results. 

Mr. Smith was married, in 1890, to Miss Tennie L. Myers, daughter of 
William and Lucinda Myers, who came to Joplin in 1872. They have had 
five children: Chauncey W., Ralph R., Stephen A., Jr., Joanna M. and 
Richard A. Smith. 

In politics Mr. Smith is a Democrat. He is a Modern Woodman and 
a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. A man of broad 
views and patriotic spirit, he takes a deep interest in all affairs affecting the 
welfare of this city and county, and has become known for his helpful public.: 
spirit. 

v ISAAC AULT. 

One of the leading and substantial agriculturists of Jasper county is 
Isaac Ault, who owns one of the fine farms of Twin Grove township. Mr. 
Ault was born in Wayne county, Ohio, on August 12, 1836, and was the son 
of John and Magdalena C. (Yohe) Ault. John Ault was born in 1804, in 
Washington county, Pennsylvania, and emigrated to Ohio' when sixteen years 
old, and lived there until his death, when he was eighty-five years of age. 
By trade lie was a tanner, and he worked at that in connection with farming 
for about fifty years, accumulating considerable means. The mother of our 
subject was born in the same neighborhood in Pennsylvania, in 18 10, and 
lived to be eighty-one years of age. She came with her parents to Ohio at 
11 



193 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

the age of eighteen years, married there and became the most devoted mother 
oi twelve children and reared all but two of them to maturity. 

Isaac Ault was the second son in the family, and grew to manhood in 
Wayne county, Ohio, where he received his education in the common schools, 
which were then held in log structures, and these were usually built at cross- 
roads. Until he was twenty-one years old he assisted his father in farming, 
and then started in business for himself. On the 27th of December, 1862, 
our subject was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Wickey, who was born 
in Wayne county, Ohio, and to this union were born six daughters and three 
sons, as follows: Abbie, the widow of L. D. McChord; Amasa P.,. a resi- 
dent of the state of Washington; Mary C, at home; Edna L, the wife of 
Charles E. Mitchell, of Galesburg, Missouri; Effie D., a teacher; Edgar H. ; 
Alpha R.,.a teacher; and Lizzie Florence, at home. The eldest son died in 
infancy. Five of these children developed into successful teachers, and all 
have been well educated. 

After marriage Mr. and Airs. Ault settled on a farm in Wayne county, 
where they remained until they came to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1868, 
and located upon the fine property which Mr. Ault owns and operates, in 
section 10, Twin Grove township. All of the excellent improvements on this 
property have been made by our subject, and it is one of the most desirable 
tracts in the county. Mr. Ault is a large land-owner. In 1891 he bought 
a farm on section 11, in Mineral township, consisting of one hundred and 
sixty acres, which, added to the one hundred and twenty in the home place, 
makes an area of large proportions. 

Formerly Mr. Ault had been identified with the Republican party, but 
the agitation of the money question caused him to cast his vote for the Demo- 
cratic nominee in the last two presidential elections. In 1861 he testified his 
fideltiy to the Union by enlisting for service in Company C, Sixteenth Ohio 
Volunteer Infantry, and remained from home some five months. His stand- 
ing in Jasper county is very high, for he is regarded as one of the reliable, 
honorable and substantial citizens, belonging to a class which the county is 
proud to number among its representatives. 



/ 



THOMAS B. GAREY. 



Thomas B. Garey, the efficient superintendent of the John R. Holmes 
mine, is one of the native sons of Missouri, his birth having occurred at 
■Granby, in Newton county, in 1859. His paternal grandfather removed 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 199 

from Tennessee to the northeastern part of Arkansas in a very early day, 
becoming one of the prominent pioneers of that locality. S. H. Garey, the 
father of our subject, was born near Fort Smith, Arkansas, and when only 
four years of age was brought by his parents to Missouri. After reaching 
years of maturity he engaged in mining in this state, successfully following 
that vocation for many years, But in later life he located on a farm in New- 
ton county, where he still resides. He is now recognized as one of the pro- 
gressive agriculturists of this portion of the country. 

Thomas B. Garey, whose name introduces this review, was reared in the 
county of his nativity, where he was early taught lessons of industry and 
economy. Since locating at his present place he has devoted his time and 
attention to mining, and has opened up and developed some valuable mines 
in this locality. For two years he held the position of foreman for the 
Missouri Lead and Zinc mine, and for the past ten years he has held the 
important and responsible office of superintendent of the John R. Holmes 
mine, one of the best producing and most valuable mining properties in this 
portion of the state. 

As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Garey chose 
Miss Fannie Frasier, a native of Stone county, Missouri. This union has 
been blessed with five children, namely : Charles Elmer, who is a graduate 
of the high school of Joplin, and is now a student in the Columbia State 
University; William, an engineer of this city; Roy, who is attending school; 
and Edna and Enid, at home. Mr. Garey exercises his right of franchise 
in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, and is an active 
worker in its ranks. The family is one of prominence in the locality in which 
they reside, and they enjoy the warm regard of a large circle of friends. 

/ HAMILTON SNODGRESS. 

Missouri is to be congratulated upon the ability of its press, and the 
dailies published in the minor cities will bear comparison with papers of their 
class published anywhere in the United States. A good representative news- 
paper in this field is the Daily Register, published at Webb City, Jasper 
county, with which the name of Snodgress has been until recently associated. 

William Snodgress was born in Tennessee. Elizabeth S. Gray, who 
became his wife, was born in Pennsylvania. In childhood they were both 
brought by their parents to Indiana, where their youthful days were passed 
among the pioneers on White river. In 1854 William Snodgress and his 



200 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

family removed to a point near Fort Dodge, in Webster county, Iowa. From 
there they removed in 1868 to Jasper county, Missouri, settling on Center 
creek, live miles southwest of Carthage, where Mr. Snodgress purchased a 
farm of three hundred and ninety acres. Mrs. Snodgress died in 1875, and 
Mr. Snodgress survived her until June, 1895. 

Hamilton Snodgress, of Webb City, Jasper county, Missouri, was born 
in Randolph county, Indiana, August 23, 1833, and began his education in a 
log school-house near his father's home. Later he attended other schools 
;n Iowa, and in 1868 he accompanied his parents to Jasper county, Missouri. 
He was married August 17, 1865, to Menttice E. Karr, of Webster county, 
Iowa, a daughter of Moses and Elizabeth (Shaeffer) Karr, and has three 
children. Their daughter, Ida C, married Jesse A. Zook, of Joplin; their 
daughter, Dicie F., married Walter L. Spurgeon, of Webb City; and their son,. 
William A., was until recently the editor and proprietor of the Webb City 
Daily Register. For twelve years Mr. Snodgress was in the grocery trade 
at Webb City, where he has lived since August 6, 1877. 

William A. Snodgress, the editor and proprietor of the Webb City Daily 
Register until late in the year 1901, was born on a farm in Jasper county, 
Missouri, in August, 1872. He was educated in the schools of Webb City,, 
finishing in the high school, and began his newspaper experience on the Daily 
Register, under Jesse A. Zook, who was then its editor. In 1895 he acquired 
an interest in the paper, and in 1896 he and his father bought the paper. 
From that time they published it as a seven-column folio. It was Demo- 
cratic m politics and in its news and mechanical dqDartments it was thoroughly 
up-to-date. Mr. Snodgress was elected a member of the board of education 
of Webb City in April, 1901. He was married in 1895 to Miss Jessie Motley, 
of Webb City. 

; 

HANSON A. LUCAS. 

Among the young men who are cultivating a portion of the soil of Jas- 
per county with gratifying success should be mentioned Hanson A. Lucas, 
a prominent agriculturist of Jackson township. He was born in Ford county, 
Illinois, on the 31st of August, 1862. His father, Alexander H. Lucas, was 
;• native of Pickaway county, Ohio, where he was also reared. He subse- 
quently removed to Indiana, thence to Ford county, Illinois, and afterward 
came to Jasper county, Missouri, where he died at the age of sixty-two years, 
honored and respected by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. He 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 201 

was of English descent. In political matters he cast his ballot in favor of 
the principles of the Republican party. The mother of our subject, who bore 
the maiden name of Catherine Sheridan, was a native of Ireland, but was 
brought to America when a babe and was reared in Illinois. With her little 
son Jesse she was accidentally drowned in Center creek, Jasper county, being- 
called to her final rest at the age of forty-five years. 

Hanson A. Lucas, the eldest of his parents' five children, was brought 
to Jasper county, Missouri, when seven years of age, and in this county he 
was reared and received his education. He remained under the parental 
roof until his marriage, when he located on a rented farm, but a short time 
afterward removed to Green county, Wisconsin, where he was engaged in 
the dairy business for about four years. On the expiration of that period 
he returned to Jasper county and located upon the farm where he now resides. 
In connection with his agricultural pursuits Mr. Lucas is also extensively 
engaged in the dairy business, and in both branches of his business he is 
meeting with a high and gratifying degree of success. His place contains 
one hundred and seventeen acres, all of which is under a fine state of cultiva- 
tion, and everything about his farm indicates the supervision of a thrifty and 
progressive owner. 

The year 1887 witnessed the marriage of Mr. Lucas and Miss Emma 
Milliken, who was born and reared in Wisconsin. Three children have 
graced their marriage, — Glenn, Helene and Bessie. The Republican party 
receives Mr. Lucas' hearty support and co-operation, and in his social rela- 
tions he is a member o^f the Knights and Ladies of Security. In religious 
faith he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and to the support 
of this church is a liberal and regular contributor. Being courteous and 
agreeable to all with whom he comes in contact, he readily makes and retains 
friends, who esteem him highly for his many worthy qualities. 

V FRANCIS M. McDANIEL. 

North Carolina has given to some of her sister states an element in their 
population commendable not only for patriotism, but for those qualities which 
make for success in all walks of life. Prominent among the citizens of 
North Carolina birth whose enterprise has made them well known in Jasper 
county is Francis M. McDaniel, a miller of Carthage. 

Francis M. McDaniel was born in Randolph county, that state, in 1835, 
a son of Samuel and Sarah (Bray) McDaniel. His parents were both 



202 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

born in North Carolina and were reared and married there. In 1841 they 
removed to Greene county, Missouri, where Mr. McDaniel died in 1867, and 
Mrs. McDaniel in 1864. Asa McDaniel, grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch, came at an early day from Scotland. Samuel and Sarah (Bray) 
McDaniel had seven children. Their son Francis was reared on the farm 
and educated in the public schools near their home. During the war he was 
engaged in buying horses for the United States government. In 1865 he 
located at Carthage, Missouri, and devoted himself to farming and milling. 
His farm consists of three hundred and eighty-two acres, and is well stocked 
with horses, cattle and hogs, and has good barns and outbuildings and all 
modern equipments. He sold his original mill to Morrow & Boyd in 1900,. 
and in 1901 erected a mill occupying a ground space of one hundred and forty- 
two by sixty-two feet, equipped with thirteen double rolls and one stone, which 
has a capacity of four hundred barrels in each twenty-four hours. He had in 
1901 a herd of two hundred cattle and owned one hundred and ten horses. 
He ships his stock in carload lots south and west. 

In 1859 Mr. McDaniel married Miss Emma Jessup, of Greene county, 
Missouri, daughter of Enoch Jessup, a native of Indiana. His present wife 
is Miss Sarah Pattison, a daughter of Andrew Pattison, of Carthage, Mis- 
souri. Mr. McDaniel has shown himself to be a man of much enterprise and 
is regarded as one of the leading business men of his town. His milling 
concern has been incorporated with a paid-up capital of forty thousand dol- 
lars, with Francis M. McDaniel, W. W. Coover and others as stockholders. 

THOMAS FOLGER. 

Thomas Folger, who owns a valuable and highly cultivated farm on 
sections 18 and 19, Marion township, Jasper county, was born in Vermilion 
county, Illinois, on the 8th of May, 1840. His paternal great-grandfather 
was a captain on a whaling vessel, and followed the sea for many years. 
He lived to the advanced age of ninety years. The grandfather of our sub- 
ject, Ruben Folger, was born in the isle of Nantucket, and was also a sea 
captain, which occupation he followed until sixty years of age. Asa Folger, 
the father of our subject, was a native of North Carolina, born in 1788. 
When about twenty-five years of age he left his native state for Union county, 
Indiana, where he was married, but a short time afterward removed to White 
river, about twenty miles from Indianapolis, Indiana. His next place of 
lesidence was at Vermilion county, Illinois, where he was engaged in the 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 203 

shoemaking and tanning business, a trade which he had learned and followed 
in North Carolina. After following that occupation for twenty years in 
Vermilion county he sold out and removed to a farm five miles distant, where 
he resided until his death, which occurred in February, 1850. He was reared 
in the Quaker church and afterward became a minister therein, devoting much 
of his time to the work of the Master. In political matters he voted with the 

Whig party. 

The mother of our subject was in her maidenhood Elizabeth Starbuck. 
She was a native of the isle of Nantucket, but when about eight years of age 
she left her native place for New York, where she remained until her fifteenth 
year. She then took up her abode in Union county, Indiana, She reached 
the eighty-second milestone on life's journey. Her father, Uriah Starbuck, 
also of Nantucket, was about forty years of age when he left that place for 
New York. He followed farming as a life occupation. Mr. and Mrs. Fol- 
ger became the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters, all of 
whom grew to maturity, namely : Walter, a resident of Jewell county, Kan- 
sas ; Erasmus and Matilda, deceased ; Lydia ; John, deceased ; Mary, the wife 
of Henry Mills, a resident of Oregon; Uriah, of Vermilion county, Illinois; 
Sarah, wife of William Dubre, of western Kansas; Rachel, wife of Henry 
Ellis and a resident of Illinois; and Thomas, the subject of this review. 
All of the children were married, all but one reared families, and none died 
until the youngest was forty-eight years of age. 

Thomas Folger was reared in the county of his nativity, and his educa- 
tional advantages were those received in the district schools and in the Bloom- 
ingdale Academy, near Annapolis, Indiana, which institution he attended 
for two teims. In August, 1861, in response to his country's call for aid, 
he became a member of Company K, Thirty-seventh Illinois Volunteer In- 
fantry, as a private. After about fourteen months' service he was promoted 
to the rank of sergeant, and his entire military career covered three years and 
two months. He took part in many of the hard-fought battles of the war, 
including the battles of Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove and Van Buren, on Arkan- 
sas river, where his regiment captured a river steamboat, and in the siege of 
Vicksburg. During the last twenty-four days of the siege Mr. Folger was 
a member of Herron's division, and was on the lower side of Vicksburg, 
next to the river. At Brownsville, Texas, there were three thousand bales 
of cotton destroyed or captured. At the battle of Pea Ridge Mr. Folger sus- 
tained a flesh wound, and he had many narrow escapes from death, his 
clothing being often pierced with bullets. At one time he was in charge of 



204 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

a small squad that took the rebel Captain Brown and his body guard pris- 
oners, Captain Brown having charge in placing the torpedo that blew up one 
of the Union gunboats. After being captured he was forced to locate other 
mines which were laid near, and thus much damage was averted. 

Receiving his honorable discharge at Chicago, Illinois, in 1864, Mr. 
Folger then returned to his home in Vermilion county, Illinois. He was 
married two years later, and then located on his father's farm, continuing its 
cultivation until 1876. In that year he took up his residence in Jewell county, 
Kansas, where he was engaged in mercantile and agricultural pursuits until 
1883. when he came to Jasper county, Missouri, and purchased the farm 
which he still owns. In 1893 he returned to Kansas, locating at Lowell, 
Cherokee county, where he was engaged in the mercantile business for nearly 
four years. In 1898 he came again to his farm in Jasper county, where he now 
owns two hundred and forty-two acres of valuable land. His landed pos- 
sessions at one time aggregated three hundred and twenty acres, but he has 
since disposed of a part of that tract, and he now rents his land. He also 
owns property in Carthage, including four dwelling houses and one store 
building. 

Mr. Folger was united in marriage with Mary J. Cutler, the wedding 
being celebrtaed on the 27th of May, 1866. The lady is a native of Chau- 
tauqua county, New York, born January 19, 1848, a daughter of George 
and Charlotte (Duncan) Cutler, natives also of the Empire state. In his 
native state the father followed the profession of teaching, but in 1858 he 
removed to Vermilion county, Illinois, and engaged in the practice of medi- 
cine. His death occurred when he had reached the age of sixty-two years, 
while his wife reached the age of seventy four years. They became 
the parents of four children, of whom Mrs. Folger is the third in order 
of birth. The eldest, Martin Cutler, now makes his home in Cali- 
fornia. The mother was a consistent and worthy member of the Presby- 
terian church. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Folger has been blessed with eight 
children, namely: Flora, the wife of Alvin Barrett, of Lowell, Kansas; Eva, 
the wife of Oliver Ballard, of Marion township, Jasper county; Olive, wife 
of Harvey D. Crumly, of Grand Junction, Colorado; George, who died at 
the age of five years ; Mary, a graduate of Perm College, of Oscaloosa, Iowa, 
of the class of 1901 ; Jennie, the wife of Burzelia Shields, of Lowell, Kansas; 
and Elizabeth and Earl, at home. Mr. Folger is an active worker in the 
Quaker church, in which he has served as elder and minister for about twenty- 
four years, and is a recorder minister, and has- served as pastor a portion of 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 205 

that time. While a resident of Illinois he was engaged in evangelistic work, 
and in 1876, after locating in Kansas, he was licensed to preach, having been 
111 charge of a church at Lowell for four and a half years. In his political 
affiliations he is a stanch Republican, unswerving in his allegiance to that 
party, and the cause of prohibition and temperance also find in him a warm 
advocate and active worker. 

ISAAC N. FOUNTAIN. 

During an extended period Isaac N. Fountain was one of the leading- 
men of Jasper county, Missouri, where he served as notary public and justice 
of the peace for a number of years. He was also a well-known practicing 
attorney, and accumulated property and exerted influence in the community. 
Mr. Fountain was born in 1845, m Indiana, and came to Jasper county with 
his father in 1857. Thomas Fountain, the father, was one of the pioneer set- 
tlers, but lost his life in the early days of the agitation preceding the Civil 
war. Few educational advantages were afforded young Isaac, and he was 
essentially a self-made man. 

In 1 86 1 Mr. Fountain enlisted for service in the army, entering the 
Sixth Kansas Cavalry, at Fort Scott, was made sergeant and served through 
four years, returning safely to his home, although one brother was killed. 
After the close of hostilities Mr. Fountain returned with the family to the 
old homestead and resumed farming and remained there until his first mar- 
riage, to Rhoda Barlow, moving then to Mineral township, near Oronogo. 
Two children were born of this manage, — Ida and William. His death 
occurred in Oronogo in 1897. 

Mrs. N. C. (Braford) Fountain, the surviving widow of the late Isaac 
N. Fountain, was born in Allen county, Indiana, and was but two years old 
when her parents moved to Vermilion county, Illinois, where her father died 
when she was but thirteen years of age. She removed to Labette count}-, 
Kansas, when eighteen years of age, and there met Mr. Fountain, and they 
were married in July, 1875, and came then to Oronogo. Mrs. Fountain is 
a lady of superior mental attainments, and was the efficient postmistress for 
about five years, during the administration of the late ex-President Benjamin 
Harrison, also seven years in the general mercantile business. Following the 
death of Mr. Fountain she took charge of -the property and managed it ad- 
mirably, retaining but little of it, however. A great grief came to her in 
1899, occasioned by the death of her daughter, Laura A., who passed away 



206 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

when twenty years of age. She was an accomplished musician and of a 
lovely character. Her son, T. B. Fountain, still survives. 

Mrs. Fountain is one of the well-known residents of this city, and is suc- 
cessfully engaged in conducting a hotel here, and enjoys the esteem of all 
who are fortunate enough to claim her acquaintance. 

MARION STAPLES. 

Conspicuous in the ranks of the pioneer business men of Joplin stands Mr. 
Staples. Possessed of fine commercial ability, supplemented by the exercise 
of sound judgment and indomitable energy, Mr. Staples has not only won 
success for himself, but has aided materially in the growth and prosperity 
of the city. In the real-estate business the fact is especially apparent that 
''realty is the basis of all security." This basis is found in the knowledge 
and probity of those through whom the transactions are conducted. In view 
of this fact there is probably no one in Joplin possessing more of these quali- 
fications than Mr. Staples. He has been connected with the largest sales 
of lots which have been made, and his business interests have been closely 
interwoven with the history of the city. This knowledge, together with 
long experience, makes him an invaluable aid to' investors. 

Mr. Staples is a native of Belfast, Maine, and spent his youth there. He 
is descended from an old New England family founded in America during 
the early epoch of its history. His mother, who prior to* her marriage bore 
the name of Miss Crowell, was of English lineage. In the schools of his 
native city Marion Staples pursued his education, and devoted his time in 
his boyhood to the pleasures of the playground as well as to the duties of the 
school-room. He went to sea with his father, sailing in South American 
waters for a number of years before coming to' the west, and thus he gained 
a good knowledge of that portion of the country. 

Determining to make his home in Missouri, Mr. Staples located in Jop- 
lin, and on the ist of January, 1878, became a member of the firm of Hutch- 
inson & Staples, real-estate and insurance agents. In 1879 their business 
was sold to J. H. Neal & Company, and Mr. Staples became a partner of 
Mr. Neal in the abstract and real-estate business, a connection which was 
maintained until 1880, when Mr. Neal sold his interest and Mr. Staples be- 
came a partner of Major F. M. Redburn in the abstract and real-estate busi- 
ness. The following year our subject purchased Mr. Redburn's interest and 
the firm of Claycomb & Staples was formed, his partner being S. H. Clay- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 207 

comb, later lieutenant-governor of the state. They continued to conduct 
realty transactions and to keep a set of abstracts, and the firm maintained a 
profitable existence until 1893, but in that year they sold out the abstract 
business, continuing, however, to deal in property for two' years longer. In 
1895 they disposed of their interests 'to J. H. Dangerfield, and on the 1st of 
January, 1896, Mr. Staples opened a real-estate office alone. He had no 
partner until 1898, when he admitted C. F. Duffelmeyer to a partnership in 
the insurance department, continuing thus until 1900, when Mr. Staples sold 
the insurance to his partner. He has probably, during his long continuance 
irl business, disposed of more land in Joplin and vicinity than any other real- 
estate agent in southwestern Missouri. A few years ago he sold at a low 
figure a large amount of mining lands, which are now of immense value. 
He has dealt to some extent in mining property and has also been interested 
in the development of mines. He is thoroughly well informed on realty val- 
ues in this portion of the state and has aided his clients in placing many safe 
and profitable investments. Socially he is connected with the Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks and the Joplin Business Men's Club, and in the 
community has many friends. 

'WILLIAM H. MARGRAVE. 

The value of that sturdy quality of character which enables one to become 
what is popularly known as a self-made man has been exemplified in the career 
of the subject of this sketch, an early settler in Jasper county, Missouri, who 
lives on section 25, Jasper township. 

William H. Margrave was born in Osage county, Missouri, March 13, 
T842, a son of Thomas W. and Nancy (West) Margrave. His father, who 
was a farmer, was born in Kentucky, and in 1848 he removed to Jasper 
county, Missouri, and located on the Alexander McCann farm. From that 
place he went to a point four miles from Alba, and he died within the boun- 
daries of section 13, Jasper township, at the age of forty-two years. Anthony 
Margrave, father of Thomas Margrave and grandfather of William H. Mar- 
grave, was a farmer, who moved to Osage county, Missouri, in an early day 
and died there. Nancy West was also a native of Kentucky. Thomas W. 
and Nancy (West) Margrave had eight children, and the subject of this 
sketch was their fourth child and third son in the order of birth. Orphaned 
at the early age of six, young Margrave came to Jasper county, where he 
was reared and acquired such an education as he could obtain in the public 



208 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

schools between the ages of six and fourteen years. When he was fourteen 
years old he took up the battle of life for himslf and worked by the month 
on farms and on state ranches in Kansas. A resident of the Sunflower state 
from 1859 to 1 86 1, he was for a time a member of the Kansas Home Guards. 

In 1864 Mr. Margrave married Mrs. Mary E. Rude, whose maiden name 
was McKinney, a native of Kentucky, who was reared in Missouri and edu- 
cated at the Osage mission. In 1868 he located on the farm on which he now 
lives and on which he made all improvements and erected all buildings. It 
consists of three hundred and twenty acres of good land, all under cultivation, 
and he gives attention to general farming and stock-raising, making a specialty 
of hogs and thoroughbred cattle. Formerly he was for some years in the 
cattle trade, buying, shipping and selling quite extensively. Politically a 
Democrat, he takes an active interest in public affairs, and has been a member 
of the school board of his township for twenty-five years. A pioneer in the 
county, he has evidenced much public spirit and has been closely identified 
with the advancement of all general interests. He and his brother, T. P. 
Margrave, are the only survivors of their family. T. P. Margrave lives at 
Pittsburg, Kansas. 

William H. and Mary E. (McKinney) Margrave had a daughter named 

Emma, who is dead. After the death of his first wife Mr. Margrave married 

Miss Betty Johnson, who has borne him five children, named as follows: 

William A., Fannie, Myrtle and Charles B. (twins) and Benjamin H. 
I 

^ SANDERS T. DAVIS. 

Among the native sons of Missouri now actively associated with mining 
interests in Jasper county is Sanders T. Davis, the foreman for the Missouri 
Lead and Zinc Company. He was born in Callaway county, in 1864, an d 1S a 
representative of one of the pioneer families of that locality, his grandfather, 
Gerard Davis, having removed to this state at an early day from Virginia. 
His son, Richard T. Davis, the father of our subject, was born in Callaway 
county, and was there reared upon a farm. After arriving at years of maturity 
he married Miss Julia Carrington, a daughter of Judge William Carrington, 
who removed from the Blue Grass state to Missouri at an early period in its 
•development. He became a leading and influential citizen of Callaway county, 
was honored with public office, and for a number of years was the county 
judge. Hon. W. T. Carrington, an uncle of our subject, is the present state 
school superintendent of Missouri and is most prominent in educational circles. 




SANDERS T. DAYIS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 



211 



No event of special importance occurred to vary the usual routine of farm 
life for Sanders T. Davis in his youth. He attended the common schools near 
his home and in the summer months he assisted in the labors of fields and 
meadow. Not desiring to make farm work his life occupation, however, he at 
length left home, and for a time was in the employ of the Citizens' Traction 
Company, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as foreman. He also spent some time in 
St. Louis, and for the past three years he has resided in Joplin, where he occu- 
pies the position of foreman for the Missouri Lead and Zinc Company. He 
is well qualified for the important duties which devolve upon him and has the 
unqualified confidence of the company which he represents, for he makes their 
interests his own, and is energetic, prompt and notably reliable. In connection 
with his other interests he is superintendent and manager of the C. A. Davis 
mill and mine. 

Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Barbara Jordan, a native of 
Cole county, Missouri, and a daughter of William Jordan, one of the pioneer 
settlers there. Mrs. Davis is a cousin of Mrs. Governor Stone. By her mar- 
riage she has become the mother of four children : Nydia, Nedia, William 
and Marie. In politics Mr. Davis is a pronounced Republican, deeply inter- 
ested in the questions of the day and the success of his party. He was a dele- 
gate to the county convention in Carthage in 1900, and in 1901 was elected 
a member of the city council of Joplin from the Second ward for a two years' 
term. Socially he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 
He is industrious, determined and progressive, traits which are manifest in 

his business career, in his political work and in every walk of life and it is 

such characteristics that have led to the rapid and marvelous development of 
the west. 

""JOHN LOCHRIE. 

Among the worthy citizens of this country which Scotland has furnished 
is John Lochrie, who was born in Wigtownshire, that country, on the 19th of 
November, 1838. His father, Michael Lochrie, was also a native of the land 
of hills and heather, and by occupation a farmer. He came to America about 
J 85 2, locating in Greene county, Illinois, from which point he went to Cham- 
paign county, and thence in 1880 to Atlantic, Cass county, Iowa, where he 
died when seventy-two years of age. He married Miss Mary Stewart, also 
a native of Scotand, who died in Murray, Iowa, when about seventy-eight 
\ears of age. They came to America about fifty-two years ago, and became 



212 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

the parents of twelve children, all still living, the subject of this review being 
the fourth child and third son in order of birth. 

John Lochrie was about fourteen years old when he came to America 
with his parents. He attended school in the old country and also in Greene 
county, Illinois. Later he moved with the family to Champaign county, that 
state, and remained under the parental roof until i860, when he went to the 
gold mines at Pikes Peak, Colorado', where he engaged in business one year. 
He then returned to Illinois, Champaign county, where he engaged in farming 
until 1878, when he came to Jasper county, Missouri, locating in Twin Grove 
township. There he bought a farm, upon which he remained until 1882, 
when he bought another farm of one hundred and twenty acres in the same 
township, on section 20, where he now makes his home and carries on gen- 
eral farming. Later he sold forty acres of his farm, but in addition to his 
farm he also owns property and dwelling houses in Carl Junction. 

On the 17th of April, 1862, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Lochrie 
and Miss Flora Craw, who was born in Macoupin county, Illinois, October 
15, 1842. She was the daughter of George B. Craw, a native of Vermont, 
where he remained until about fourteen years of age, when he came to Illi- 
nois. He located in Greene county, that state, where he married Miss Anna 
M. Wilkerson, a native of England, who came to America when a child, was 
reared in Virginia and then came to Illinois. They became the parents of 
two children, Mrs. Lochrie and her brother Charles. After the death of their 
mother the father was again married, to Miss Maggie Patterson, by whom 
he had two daughters, Nettie and Edith. Mrs. Lochrie was reared in Greene 
"county, Illinois, where her father was engaged in farming. Soon after their 
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Lochrie located in Champaign county, Illinois, and 
they became the parents of seven children, namely : George, who was born 
January 11, 1863, married Lizzie Stuckey in November, 1888, and now re- 
sides in Carl Junction; William, who was born January 31, 1864, and died 
May 7, 1888; Anna B., who was born November 6, 1868, became the wife 
of Dr. E. McCoy, and is now deceased; Ralph E., who was born March 7, 
1867, married Ella Wise April 4, 1894, and now resides in Carl Junction; 
John Abert, who was born October 31, 1875, married Maude Long December 
24, 1899, and they reside with his parents; Walter Roy, who was born Feb- 
ruary 14, 1882, and is employed by Harvey Brothers; and Clinton E., who 
was born December 10, 1884, is still single and living with his parents. 

Mr. Lochrie was a Republican in his political views and voted for McKin- 
ley in 1900, but in 1896 he voted for Bryan. He has held several township 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 213 

offices, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has 
served as trustee, steward and class-leader and takes an active part in all the 
work of the church. He is an enterprising, public-spirited man, and takes 
a deep interest in every movement and measure which he believes calculated 
to prove of public good, and is well known and honored by all his fellow 
citizens. 

JOHN CRAIG WARREX. 

Joplin, Missouri, has many wide-awake and enterprising business men 
who have done much to push the city into its present enviable position as a 
center of industry and trade. One of the best known of these is John Crai- 
Warren, superintendent of the Tuckahoe Lead & Zinc Mining Company and 
a director m the Citizens' State Bank. He has been a resident of Joplin 
since 1882. 

In the year just mentioned Mr. Warren was brought to Joplin by his 
father, Ezekiel Warren. He attended the public schools for some vears after- 
ward, and in 1878 began mining, with which interest he has since been actively 
identified. He has operated principally on his own account, and among well- 
known mines which he has developed may be mentioned the Big Four mine 
the Manhattan mine, the Snapp- Warren mine, and the H. U. E. mine in 
which enterprises he was associated with his brothers, G. I., F. H., W.H 
and B. F. Warren. W. H. Warren at one time held the office of sheriff of 
jasper county, and B. F. Warren was at one time the leading- mineral producer 
of his district. The Lee Taylor mine, a very important one, was owned by 
ine Warren brothers, as was also the old Broadway mine, of which their father 
was at one time the owner and which in time became known as the Warren- 
on-Broadway mine. Mr. Warren has been active in many directions, and was 
one of the organizers of the Citizens' State Bank. 

Mr. Warren married Miss Maggie L., daughter of Isaac and Nancy 
Zellers, who were early settlers in Jasper county, near Carthage, when that 
now flourishing town was a mere hamlet. Mr. Zellers died on his farm in 
tnat locality, deeply regretted by a wide circle of acquaintances. 

^ JAMES FITHIAN. 

One of the few well-known miners in Jasper county, Missouri, who was 
born in this state is James Fithian, of Joplin. He is a son of George and 
Lizzie (Galbreath) Fithian. His father, who was born in Tennessee settled 



2i 4 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

early in Missouri. His mother was born in Barry county, Missouri, whither 
her parents emigrated from Illinois. 

James Fithian, o>f this review, located in Joplin in 1887, and for a num- 
ber of years gave his attention to local mining. For a time he served as 
superintendent of the Brookfield mines and was one of the owners of that 
property. Those mines, on the Thompson land, were opened two years ago, 
and consist of two- shafts, each opened one hundred and ten feet deep, and 
under Mr. Fithian's direction were worked very profitably. Previous to his 
connection with these mines, however, he opened and operated mines east of 
Joplin, where he developed some good property. 

Mr. Fithian was married in January, 1889, to Miss Cora Vickery, a native 
of Michigan, and they have a son named Hurald. They lost two sons, named 
Roy and Georgia, Mr. Fithian is a member of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and is a public-spirited citizen of much influence, and is highly re- 
spected by all who know him. 

JOHN AREY. 

John Arey, one of the leading agriculturists of Jasper county, claims the 
Old Dominion as the state of his nativity, his birth having there occurred in 
Rockingham county, on the 21st of July, 1835. His father, John Arey, was 
a native of the same county, and was a farmer and blacksmith by occupation. 
His career, which was an industrious and useful one, ended in death when he 
had reached the forty-ninth milestone on the journey of life, passing away in 
the faith of the Lutheran church, in which he was an active worker. His polit- 
ical support was given the Democracy. The mother of our subject, who bore 
the maiden name of Jahila Carr, was also a native of the Old Dominion, having 
been born and reared in Rockbridge county. She reached the ripe old age of 
eighty-three years. Mr. and Mrs. Arey became the parents of nine children, 
all of whom grew to years of maturity, and three are still living. 

John Arey, the fifth child and second son in the above family, was reared 
in the county of his nativity and was early inured to the work of field and 
meadow. He also learned the blacksmith's trade of his father, and he remained 
under the parental roof until the breaking out of the Civil war, when, true to 
his loved southland, he became a member of the Confederate army, entering 
Company H, Tenth Virginia Infantry. He served with honor and distinction 
for four years, one year in the infantry and three in Ashby's cavalry, and dur- 
ing that time was promoted from the ranks of a private to the position of 




JOHN AREY 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 217 

orderly sergeant and afterward to that of second lieutenant. During- his serv- 
ice he was twice wounded, first at the second battle of Manassas by the explo- 
sion of a shell, killing the horse which he rode, and he remained unconscious 
from midnight until late on the following day. At the battle of New Balti- 
more he was severely wounded in the right breast. In 1869 ^ ir - Ar'ey came to 
Jasper county, Missouri. He had previously studied music and had taught 
that art in Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio, and after coming to this county 
he resumed that profession, at the same time engaging in agricultural pursuits. 
In 1870 he located on the land which he still owns, but at that time the only 
improvements upon the place consisted of a very small house and three acres 
under cultivation. His original purchase consisted of forty acres, but he has 
since added to that tract until he now owns three hundred and twenty-two and 
a half acres, all of which he has placed under a fine state of cultivation, and has 
made many other improvements upon the place. Mr. Arey is now regarded as 
one of the leading farmers of his locality, but all that he now owns is the result 
of his indefatigable labor, resolute spirit and wise judgment. He is indeed a 
self-made man, and since the commencement of life has battled earnestly and 
energetically. 

The lady who now bears the name of Mrs. Arey was in her maidenhood 
Mary J. Wheeler, a native of North Carolina. Their wedding was celebrated 
in Jasper county, in 1872, and they have had seven children, four of whom are 
living: Charlie J. ; Minnie, wife of Jesse Myers, of Oronogo, Jasper county; 
and Walter and George, at home. Mr. Arey is a stalwart Democrat in his 
political views, but has never sought or desired political honors, preferring to 
give his undivided time and attention to his business interests. The cause of ' 
education, however, has ever found in him a warm friend, and for twenty- 
eight years he served as school director, filling that position with honor to ■ 
himself and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. 



A. L. MANESS. 

Among the well-known and reliable mine superintendents of Jasper 
county, Missouri, is A. L. Maness, who was born in Jefferson county, Mis- 
souri, and was a son of J. A. and Susie (Craig) Maness. The former was 
born in Jefferson county, Missouri, and was a son of Ephraim Maness. who 
came to this state from Tennessee. J. A. Maness resides in McDonnell 

county, Missouri. The mother of our subject was formerly Susie Craig, who- 
12 



218 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

was born in Jefferson county, and was a daughter of George Craig, who died 
in Joplin a number of years ago. 

Mr. Maness is a practical miner and is known as such through. Jasper 
county, where he has the reputation of being one of the most thorough men 
in the business. He is now filling the responsible position of superintendent 
•of the Mt. Ararat mine, on the Conner land, in Joplin township. For the 
past sixteen years he has been engaged in this district, for five years acting" 
as superntendent of the Morning Star mine, and for two years of the Sun- 
flower mine at Midway, Missouri, and for the past eight months has had 
charge of the Tom S. The ore from this mine is of excelent quality, and he 
has an excellent mill of one hundred tons; there are two shafts and the depth 
is two hundred feet. 

Mr. Maness was married in Jasper county to Miss Arneze Rickman, a 
daughter of James Rickman, of Joplin, who is a farmer and one of the early 
settlers who came from Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Maness have two chil- 
dren, — Ora and Maggie. The family residence is a neat country home two 
miles southeast of Webb City. Mr. Maness is socially connected with the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen, and is re- 
garded as one of the representative men of Webb City. 

' GEORGE W. JOHNSON. 

Among the old residents and prominent farmers of Jasper county, Mis- 
souri, is numbered George W. Johnson, who- resides on section 28, Twin 
Grove township. His birth occurred in Galena township, Jasper county, 
Missouri, three miles from Joplin and below Leadville Hollow, March 28, 
1855. His paternal grandfather, Eli Johnson, was one of the first settlers 
of the county, locating on what is now the old Chitwood farm or the Leonard 
mning land. Peter R. Johnson, the father of our subject, was a native of 
North Carolina, whence he moved to Illinois when a small boy, and when a 
young man he settled near Joplin, Missouri, where he engaged in farming 
and stock-raising. He was married in Jasper county, that state, to Miss Mary 
T. Maxey, a native of Virginia, from which state she went to Kentucky and 
later to Jasper county, Missouri, where she met and married Mr. Johnson. 
They became the parents of twelve children, all but one growing to' years of 
maturity, and our subject was the sixth child and fifth son in order of birth. 
His father was a consistent member of the Baptist church, active in all of its 
work, and a very worthy citizen. He died when about sixty-eight years of 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 219 

age, while his wife passed away when about sixty years of age. When they 
settled in Jasper county the town of Joplin was not even started, but they 
lived to see it become a flourishing mining town and always took a deep in- 
terets in its growth and upbuilding. 

George W. Johnson, whose name forms the caption of this sketch, was 
reared in his native county, acquiring a good common-school education in 
the district schools. He then located near Old Sherwood, Jasper county, on 
the W. E. Johnson farm, then in Bates county, Missouri, where he lived for 
about four and a half years, when he returned to Jasper county and located 
on the farm where he now resides. There were no improvements worth men- 
tioning upon the place when he bought it, but he bulit a comfortable and con- 
venient dwelling, barns and other necessary buildings, enclosed the place with 
a good fence and placed the fields under good cultivation, so that it is now 
one of the finest farms in the county and consists of one hundred and sixty 
acres, including good pastures upon which he raises some fine stock. He also 
owns property in Joplin and an interest in the old homestead in the mining 
district. 

In 1878 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Margaret E. 
Newby, a native of Henry county, Indiana, and a daughter of Cyrus and 
Louise (Baldwin) Newby. By their marriage our subject and his wife be- 
came the parents of seven children: Eva, Daisy, Beulah, Pearl; and Cora, 
William and Earl, deceased. Mr. Johnson is a stanch Republican in his 
political affiliations, has been one of the school directors and is a member of 
the Christian church, in which he is serving as deacon. 

^ HARTWELL T. McKEE. 

The beauty of a city depends largely upon its architecture, and to those 
who design and construct its buildings is due the credit of the position it 
holds in this direction. No other contractor and builder has done as large an 
amount of the work which adorns the streets and avenues of Joplin as Mr. Mc- 
kee. He is indeed well versed in the details and principles of this branch of 
industry and has established an extensive and lucrative business. 

Mr. McKee is one of the native sons of Tennessee, having first opened his 
eyes to the light of day in Marshall county, that state, his parents being Sam- 
uel and Martha J. (Bills) McKee, both of whom were natives of Ten- 
nessee. During the greater part of the time prior to his removal to Joplin 
Hartwell T. McKee remained in Calloway county, Missouri, and after ac- 



220 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

quiring his education he learned the carpenter's trade, which he has followed 
as a life work. His proficiency in this line was soon manifest and many 
evidences of his splendid handiwork and mechanical skill are now seen in 
Joplin. He arrived in this city in 1888 and has since been identified with 
the building interests. He is one of the leading contractors of the city and has 
erected over five hundred residences and several store buildings, his patronage 
being equal to that accorded any other two contractors of the city. Some 
of the most attractive residences and the finest business blocks have been 
planned by him and erected under his supervision, and the beauty and im- 
provement of the city is largely due to his efforts. He is also to some extent 
connected with the mining interests of the county and has opened two good 
mines, which are paying investments. 

Mr. McKee was united in marriage to Miss Mary Gibbs, who died in 
1 89 1, leaving three children, Edna, Claude and Thomas, the sons being now 
associated in business with their father. Mr. McKee is a member of the 
Modern Woodmen Camp of Joplin and is also identified with the Royal 
Neighbors, in which organization he was an official for three years. In his 
business he is energetic, prompt and notably reliable, never making an en- 
gagement which he does not meet or incurring an obligation which he does 
not fulfill. These qualities have gained for him an irreproachable reputation in 
trade circles, where he is also known for his unquestioned integrity. His 
success is well merited, and as the architect of his own fortunes he has builded 
wisely and well. 



/ 



JOHN W. SPENCER. 

The fraternal regard which impells brothers to associate themselves in 
business and assist one another through the active years of their lives is most 
commendable. The names of John W., R. H., D. A., A. C, G. B. and E. E. 
Spencer have long been well known in connection with mining interests in 
Jasper county, Missouri. D. A. and G. B. Spencer are dead, but the four 
others mentioned are yet active conjointly in an enterprise in which John W. 
Spencer is the leader. They were the sons of Ephriam and Sarah E. (Smith) 
Spencer, and John W. Spencer was born in Mason county, Kentucky, but when 
four years old was taken to Brown county, Ohio, where his father was an 
early settler. Ephriam and Sarah E. (Smith) Spencer are living at Webb 
City, Missouri, the former at the age of seventy-nine, the latter, who is a na- 
tive of Lewis county, Kentucky, at the age of sixty-nine years. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 221 

The six sons of Ephriam and Sarah E. (Smith) Spencer all began busi- 
ness as carpenters, and practically all their lives those of them who remain 
have worked together. John W. Spencer came to Jasper county, Missouri, 
in 1882, and during most of the time since has been mining and prospecting on 
his own account, though a part of the time he has held the position of mining 
superintendent. He has been fortunate in several mining enterprises and 
has operated three mines on his own account. He put up a mill on Centre 
creek ground which he sold to good advantage. 

In Schuyler county, Illinois, John W. Spencer married Miss Mary F 
Drake, a native of Pennsylvania. One of their daughters is Mrs. Narcissia 
Shawgo of Webb City. Mary Olive is Mrs. J. T. McCann, of Webb City 
and Sarah 1S the wife of Robert Schiers, of the same place. Their son, Clyde 
C is employed by his father as an engineer, and John W., Jr., is employed 
by his ather m the mill. Their son, Clarence Roy, is dead, and another son 
Earl El wood, is m school. They have another son named Harry Francis and 
they have an infant named Hazel A. Stephen Ephraim died in infancy. 

SWAN SWANSON. 

Among the pioneers who came to southwestern Missouri in an early day 
to secure homes and open up this region to civilization is Swan Swanson 
now an enterprising farmer of Jasper county. He located here in 1877 and 
has ever since labored for the advancement and upbuilding of this section 
He was born m the northern part of Sweden, on the 4 th of October, 1846 
and was reared in the country of his nativity, receiving his education in the 
common schools there. He was early inured to the labors of the farm and 
was thus engaged until fourteen years of age, when he served an apprentice- 
ship of three and a half years at the millwright's trade. After completing 
his term of service he followed that trade for six months. In the year 1866 
he bade adieu to home and friends in his native land and crossed "the briny 
deep to America, first locating at Princeton, Illinois, where, he remained for 
about two years. He then spent a similar period in Chicago, where he fol- 
lowed the carpenter's trade, after which he traveled over different parts of 
the country, spending about six months in travel, visiting Iowa, Dakota and 
many other states of the Union. On again taking up the quiet duties of life 
he located at Fort Scott, Kansas, where he was among the eariv pioneer set- 
tlers, locating there before a railroad had been built to that point. He made 
his home in Fort Scott for about four years, but during that time he was em- 



222 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

ployed at bridge building by a railroad company, between Fort Scott and 
Denison, Texas. Mr. Swanson's next location was at Granby, Missouri, 
where he was engaged in the bakery and confectionery business, remaining 
there about four and a half years. The year 1877 witnessed his arrival in 
Jasper county, and in the following year he located on the farm on which he 
now resides and which consists of eighty acres of the finest land to be found in 
this portion of the county. He has made many improvements upon his place, 
has erected good buildings, and in many other ways has added to its at- 
tractive appearance and value. He is engaged in general farming and stock- 
raising, and in both branches of his business is meeting with a high and well- 
merited degree of success. 

In 1875 Mr. Swanson was united in marriage with Miss Belle Jones, a 
native of St. Clair county, Illinois, where her parents were also born. When 
about eight years of age Mrs. Swanson left the county of her nativity, going 
to Lafayette county, Missouri. She is the fourth in order of birth of her 
parents' six children, two daughters and four sons. The union of Mr. and 
Mrs. Swanson has been blessed with four sons, namely : John Oscar, Merlin 
E., Clarence and Alban G. The second son, Merlin Edgar, was a member of 
Company A, Thirty-ninth United States Volunteer Infantry, and participated 
in seven battles in the Philippines. He was honorably discharged from service 
on account of disability, and now resides in Iowa, as does also his brother, 
John Oscar, the eldest of the family. Mr. Swanson is a stanch advocate of 
Republican principles, and in his social relations is a member of the Wood- 
men of the World, at Galesburg, Missouri. Both he and his wife are active 
and worthy members of the Christian church at Nashville, Missouri, and Mrs. 
Swanson is a prominent worker in the Sunday-school. The family is one of 
prominence in their locality and enjoys the warm regard of many friends. 

MARTIN WIDNER. 

The list of the leading agriculturists of Jasper county contains the name 
of Martin Widner, who owns a beautiful and well developed farm on section 
28, Mineral township. He is descended from the thrifty and progressive Ger- 
man stock which has proved so beneficial to our American citizenship. His 
grandfather, Mathias Widner, was a native of either Tennessee or Kentucky, 
and was a blacksmith and farmer by occupation. He became one of the 
early pioneer settlers of Clinton county, Indiana, where his death occurred. 
His son, Henry Widner, the father of our subject, was a native of Tennessee, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 223 

but when twelve years old was taken by his parents to Clinton county, Indiana. 
In 1856 he removed to Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming and in the 
furniture business. By trade he was a cabinet-maker and millwright. In 
1861, at the outbreak of the Civil war, he readily responded to the call of his 
country and became a mmber of Company D, Eleventh Wisconsin Volunteer 
Infantry, and in 1862 he laid down his life for the cause 'which he had so 
nobly espoused. He had been very prominent in the different localitis in which 
he lived, and while a resident of Indiana he was engaged in the manufacture of 
plug tobacco and cigars at Howard, between Logansport and Kokomo. He 
married Tamer Morton, who was born in Pennsylvania but was reared in 
Virginia, and she now makes her home in Cass county, Iowa, having reached 
the age of seventy-seven years. Her father, William Morton, removed from 
Pennsylvania to Virginia and was of Scotch descent. Mr. and Mrs. Widner 
became the parents of eight children, four sons and four daughters. The 
eldest son, Mathias, also laid down his life on the altar of his country, having 
been a soldier in Company D, Eleventh Wisconsin Infantry. Most of the 
relatives on the paternal side were southern people and therefore espoused the 
cause of the south during the Civil war, and the older representatives of the 
family are still supporters of the Democracy. 

Martin Widner, the second child and second son in his father's family, 
was about ten years of age when he accompanied his parents on their removal 
to Wisconsin. He remained under the parental roof until the trouble between 
the north and south resulted in the Civil war, when he nobly put aside all 
personal considerations and went to the front, joining Company D, Eleventh 
A\ isconsin Volunteer Infantry, as a private. During his army service he was 
never wounded or captured, but on one occasion he was shot at by about sixty 
Rebels on Red River, he being the only Union man in sight at that time. 
He received an honorable discharge at Madison, Wisconsin, in 1S65. He 
then returned to his home in that state and again took up the quiet duties of 
the farm, where he continued until his removal to Richland county, Wis- 
consin. His next location was in Cass county, where the tilling of the soil 
claimed his attention until his removal to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1880. 
A location was first made east of Carthage, where he cultivated rented land 
until he located on his present fine farm on section 28, Mineral township, and 
here he is engaged in general farming, his efforts being attended with a high 
and well merited degree of success. 

In Avilla, Jasper county, Missouri, in 1880, occurred the marriage of 
Mr. Widner and Miss Florence Leidy. By this union there have been born 



224 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

.six children,: — Harry, Lee, Paul, John, Maud and Isora, all at home. Mr. 
Widner has been a life-long Republican, firmly believing in the principles set 
forth by that party, and in its ranks he has taken a prominent and active 
part. He is thoroughly identified with the section in which he lives and has 
a host of warm friends in Jasper county. 



J 



ISAAC C. HESS. 



This prominent citizen of Webb City, Jasper county, Missouri, who was 
-elected a member of the city council of Webb City in 1898, 1900 and 1901, and 
is now serving his third term in that responsible office, is one of the prominent 
Democrats of the county and is well-known as an Odd Fellow and for his iden- 
tification with the Knights and Ladies of Security. 

Mr. Hess is a son of W. R. Hess, who early came from Alabama to Shan- 
non county, Missouri, where the subject of this sketch was born. W. R. Hess 
married Margaret De Priest, a native of Illinois. Mr. Hess, who owns a beau- 
tiful home in Webb City and takes a public-spirited interest in the progress of 
the town, has been a citizen of Jasper county during the last twelve years, and 
for nine years, as engineer of the Center Creek Mining Company, has had 
charge of mining station No. 1, which is fitted with the largest steam pump in 
Jasper county. His brother, J. A. Hess, is his second engineer and ably assists 
him in the duties of his position. For many years John A. Hess was an engi- 
neer in the service of the Iron Mountain Railway Company. 

Isaac C. Hess was married in Jasper county, Missouri, to Miss Rosa 
Wisby, a native of Franklin county, Missouri, and they have four children : 
Lee, Gertie. Earl and Lester. Mr. Hess is known to his fellow citizens as one 
who is always willing to put his shoulder to the wheel to help start or maintain 
any movement that promises to advance the interests of any considerable class 
of his fellow citizens. As a councilman he has proven himself a model official, 
and should he be called to a higher position, those who know him believe he 
would fill every demand upon him. 

JOHN FREEMAN. 

John Freeman, a prominent farmer of section 28. Twin Grove township, 
Jasper county, Missouri, first opened his eyes to the light of day in Sweden, 
on the 3d of September, 1859. He spent the days of his childhood and youth 
in his naive country upon a farm, where he acquired habits of industry and 




ISAAC 0. HESS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 227 

economy and became familiar with all the duties and labors of the agricul- 
turist. He received the usual educational advantages of farmer lads and at 
the age of twenty-three crossed the Atlantic to America, hoping to find in the 
land of the free wider and better opportunities for advancement in life. Upon 
landing in this country he went first to Pierce City, Lawrence county, Mis- 
souri, where he worked by the day in a lime-kiln for a time. He then went 
to Webb City, where he engaged in mining about nine years. At the expira- 
tion of this period he bought a farm of two hundred and forty acres of unim- 
proved land, upon which he built a commodious and convenient farmhouse, 
barns and other necessary outbuildings, and carries on general farming. 

When Mr. Freeman landed in America he had but two dollars with which 
to begin life, but by his indefatigable energy, perseverance, determined pur- 
pose and careful management he has accumulated a comfortable competence 
and acquired some property, becoming the owner of one hundred and sixty 
acres of good land in Cherokee county, Kansas, and three houses in Carl Junc- 
tion, two of which he built in 1901. Pie also owns the farm of two hundred 
and forty acres in Jasper county, where he now makes his home. 

Our subject was married in Jasper county, Missouri, in 1886, to Miss 
Lizzie Daulstrom, and their union has been blessed with nine children, seven 
daughters and two sons, as follows : May, Nellie, Edah, Clara, Bettie, Annie, 
John, Carl and Lucy, all born upon the home farm. The father of this family 
and the subject of this review exercises his right of franchise in support of 
the men and measures of the Republican party and is widely known in the 
county as a public-spirited citizen who takes an active interest in everything 
pertaining to the welfare of the community. He served as school director for 
six years and does everything in his power to promote the growth and prog- 
ress of his county along material, intellectual, social and moral lines. 

v DAVID GRIFFITHS EVANS. 

Prominent among the successful and enterprising young business men 
of Carl Junction, Jasper county, is David Griffiths Evans, who was born in 
Twin Grove township, Jasper county, Missouri, on August 4, 1870. He is 
the only son of William E. and Elizabeth (Griffiths) Evans, the former of 
whom is one of the most prominent citizens of Carl Junction. He was born 
in Butler count}', Ohio, of Welsh ancestry, and came to Jasper county in 1869. 
Here he is a large land holder and is prominent in public, military and re- 
ligious life. 



228 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

The mother of our subject was born in Wales and came with her parents 
to America when six years old. They located one year after in Butler county, 
Ohio, where she and Mr. Evans were married prior to coming to> Missouri. 

David Griffiths Evans was the only child of his parents, and received su- 
perior educational advantages. After an excellent primary preparation he en- 
tered the normal school of Fort Scott and graduated at that institution in the 
class of 1 89 1. Until 1894 he continued to assist his father in his farming 
operations, and then opened up his business at Carl Junction. Mr. Evans 
deals in all kinds of farming machinery and has one of the best stocks in this 
locality and does a business of large proportions. 

The marriage of Mr. Evans was in 1893, to Alice Gardiner, of Bourbon 
county, Kansas, who was a daughter of J. C. Gardiner. Three children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Evans, two of whom died in infancy, the surviving 
son being named Evan. Mr. Evans is a stanch Republican and has long been 
particularly active in the Methodist church and is superintendent of the Sun- 
day school. Socially he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America 
and is venerable consul. He also belongs to the Horse Thief Protective Asso- 
ciation. Mr. Evans is one of the energetic and progressive young men of this 
locality and has won the esteem and confidence of the public by his close 
attention to business and his honorable methods of dealing. 

L DANIEL FULLMER. 

One of the extensive land owners and farmers of Jasper county is Daniel 
Fullmer, who, through his well directed efforts, has achieved a most credit- 
able success in his business career, and has not only won a handsome com- 
petence but has gained the confidence and respect of all, by reason of .his hon- 
orable methods and reliability. He was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, on 
the 28th of September, 1838. His father, Peter Fullmer, was a native of 
Germany, and was there reared, educated and married. In about 1834 he 
bade adieu to the land of his birth and crossed the broad Atlantic to the 
United States, locating in St. Clair county, Illinois, where he took up the 
quiet duties of the farm. His life's labors were ended in death when he had 
reached the age of fifty-four years. The mother of our subject, who was in 
her maidenhood Miss Eva Uninger, was also a native of the Fatherland, and 
she reached the age of seventy-five years, passing away in St. Clair county, 
Illinois. This worthy couple were the parents of five sons and three daugh- 
ters, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, but only two are now 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 229 

living, our subject and his brother William. The latter still makes his home 
in St. Clair county, Illinois. 

Daniel Fullmer, whose name introduces this review, is the sixth child 
and fourth son, and he was reared in the county of his nativity, there attend- 
ing the district schools. After his marriage he purchased a farm in St. Clair 
county. Illinois, where he remained until 1880, and in that year came to Jas- 
per county, casting in his lot among the residents of this locality. After his 
arrival in this state he purchased the farm upon which he now resides, which 
consists of two hundred and forty acres of land, and here he is extensively 
engaged in general farming and stock-raising. His fields are under a high 
state of cultivation, and the improvements upon the place are among the best 
to be found in this locality. 

The marriage of Mr. Fullmer occurred in Washington county, Illinois, 
in the year 1873, when Caroline Marker became his wife.. The lady is a 
native of Washington county, Illinois. Their union has been blessed with 
five children: Katie, the wife of John Newby, a farmer of Jasper county, 
Missouri ; George, who married Ella Webb and resides in Webb City ; and 
Alpha, who is at home. John Leonard and Jerome died in infancy. Mr. 
Fullmer is a supporter of the Democracy, but in 1860-4 he cast his ballot in 
support of Abraham Lincoln. In 1865 he enlisted for service in the Civil 
war, becoming a member of Company B, One Hundred and Forty-ninth Illi- 
nois Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until the close of hostilities. Two 
of his brothers also participated in that struggle, and one, John, laid down his 
life on the altar of his country, while William was also a member of the One 
Hundred and Forty-ninth Illinois Regiment. Mr. Fullmer now maintains 
pleasant relation with his comrades of the blue by his membership in the G. 
A. R. Post at Carl Junction. His religious preference is indicated by his con- 
nection with the Protestant Methodist church, of which he is a valued and 
active member and has held the office of trustee therein for a number of years. 
He is well known throughout Jasper county and takes an active interest in 
everything pertaining to its welfare and advancement. 



4 



T. B. KYLE. 



Jasper county is a. prosperous farming district, and among its most prom- 
inent and substantial agriculturists may be found T. B. Kyle, who ranks high 
in the esteem of his fellow citizens. He was born in Macomb, Illinois, on 
the 26th of May, 1847. His paternal grandfather, Rev. Thomas Kyle, was a 



230 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

native of Tennessee, but became an early settler of Miami county, Ohio. He 
was of Scotch-Irish descent and was a prominent and earnest minister in the 
New Light Christian church. Dr. James B. Kyle, the father of our subject, 
was a native of Troy, Ohio. He chose the practice of medicine as a life occu- 
pation, graduating in the Cincinnati Medical College, and during the Civil 
war he held the rank of surgeon in the Eighty-fourth Illinois Volunteer In- 
fantry. He became one of the pioneer settlers of Macomb, Illinois, where he 
was continuously engaged in the practice of his chosen profession for forty- 
five years with the exception of three years spent in the army and one year at 
Monmouth. He became a prominent and influential citizen of his locality and 
was honored with a number of public offices, having served as mayor of the 
city of Macomb and as superintendent of the township. He was also in- 
strumental in securing the continuation of the Burlington Railroad to Ma- 
comb. In his political affiliations he was an active worker in the ranks of the 
Republican party, and of the Masonic fraternity he was an exemplary and 
worthy member, Kyle Lodge having been named in his honor. He reached 
the ripe old age of three score years and ten, passing away in the faith of the 
Fresbyterian church, in which he held membership. His wife was in her 
maidenhood Sarah Rice and was a. native of Kentucky, where she remained 
until sixteen years of age, and she is still living, aged ninety-three years. Her 
grandfather was a minister in the Presbyterian church. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
Kyle were born six children— three sons and three daughters — but only two 
of the number still survive, the brother being Frank R., a prominent druggist 
of Macomb, Illinois. 

T. B. Kyle, the second son and fifth child in the above family, was reared 
and educated in his native city, where he attended the public schools. At the 
age of twenty years he embarked in the harness business, which he followed 
for about three years, and for the following ten years he was engaged in 
dairying. He then came to Jasper county, Missouri, and purchased the farm 
on which he now resides, consisting of eighty acres of highly improved land, 
located on section 20, Jackson township. Ten acres of his place is devoted to 
timber land. Mr. Kyle has been very successful in his farming operations, 
and in addition thereto he also engaged in training horses, his efforts in that 
direction having also been attended with a gratifying degree of success. 

The year 1876 witnessed the marriage of Mr. Kyle and Miss Sarah Ran- 
clell, a native of Fulton county, Illinois, where she was also reared. The 
union has been blessed with four children, two sons and two daughters, 
namely: Josephine, the wife of Albert Knight, of Jasper county, and they 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 231 

have two sons— Loren and Clyde; Nellie, the wife of Charles Hathcock, of 
Carthage, and they have one daughter, Thelma; James, who married Sue 
Calhoon and has a sou, Clarence; and Joseph B., who is still under the 
parental roof. One child died when young. 

Mr. Kyle exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and meas- 
ures of the Republican part}-, and in its ranks he is a prominent and active 
worker. He has thoroughly identified himself with the section where he re- 
sides, and all moral public measures which commend themselves to his excel- 
lent judgment find in him a hearty and liberal supporter. 

JAMES M. REEL. 

James M. Reel, who is now engaged in merchandising at East Hollow, 
has for eight years been associated with the business interests of this place, 
his attention being given to mining pursuits in connection with Mr. Mallett. 
Together they opened up the big mine on the Buell land and have been im- 
portant factors in the mineral development of this portion of the state. 

Mr. Reel is a native of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, and in i860 he 
came to Missouri, locating in Iron county. For four years he was employed 
by J. B. McCurdy in the Lehigh mines in Jasper county, and prior to that 
time had worked in the iron mines in the eastern part of the state. In fact 
throughout his entire business career he has been connected with mining and 
is an expert in that line. For seven years after his arrival in Jasper county 
he was engaged in mining at Joplin and has opened some good mines in 
that locality, including the Middleburg mine on the Bankers lease east of the 
town. His development of other property has resulted to the general good as 
well as to his individual prosperity. On leaving Joplin he came to East Hol- 
low and for eight years was associated with Mr. Mallett in the work of min- 
ing, an association that resulted to their mutual benefit and profit. He is now 
devoting his attention to merchandising and in the new enterprise is meeting 
with gratifying success as the direct result of his careful management, enter- 
prise and good judgment. 

Mr. Reel was united in marriage to Margaret Wall, a daughter of 
Thomas Wall, a pioneer of Jefferson county, Missouri, and unto them have 
been born the following children : Lucy, the wife of Edgar Mallett, of Belle- 
ville; Margaret, who married A. T. Walker, of East Hollow; Anna, the wife 
of Lewis Lackey, of East Hollow ; Macedonia, at home ; John, of East Hol- 
low; James, who is living in Belleville; and Edgar, who completes the family.. 



232 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

In his political views Mr. Reel is a stalwart Republican, and has been a 
delegate to the county conventions. He is deeply interested in the growth 
and success of his party and his opinions carry weight in its councils. In 
business he has prospered and his success has resulted entirely from his own 
efforts. 

1 ISAIAH ELTING. 

The gentleman whose name is given above is one of the prominent farm- 
ers and influential citizens of Jasper county, Missouri, and is of that fine old 
Holland Dutch stock which has been such an important factor in the develop- 
ment and prosperity of all parts of our country. 

Isaiah Elting was born in Ulster county, New York, July 15, 1833, a 
son of John I. and Susan Ann (Van Cleeck) Elting. His grandfather, Isaac 
Elting. of Ulster county, New York, served his country as a soldier in the 
war of 1812. His father, John L Elting, came to Jasper county, Missouri, in 
1S68, and died there at the age of seventy-two years. His mother, who was 
a daughter of Peter Van Cleeck, of Ulster county, New York, is living at the 
age of maety-one years, well preserved physically and mentally, and has 
many interesting memories of the past. 

In 1868 John I. Elting preceded his family to Jasper county, Missouri, 
where he took up three hundred and twenty acres of land, and his family, 
consisting of his wife, two sons and a daughter, — Mrs. H. D. Smith, of 
Marion township, Jasper county, Missouri, — came soon afterward. Isaiah 
Elting and his brother have since added considerably to their father's original 
purchase and Isaiah owns two hundred and ten acres of well improved land, 
a fine residence and commodious outbuildings. 

Isaiah Elting was reared and educated in Ulster county, New York, and 
remained there until 1855, when, in his twenty-second year, he went to How- 
ard county, Iowa, where he farmed until 1859, when he returned to New 
York state. In 1862 he went back to Iowa, where he remained until after the 
close of the war, when he returned to his native state, whence, in 1868, he 
came to Missouri as has been stated. He has given his whole life to farming, 
has prospered and is regarded as one of the successful men of his township, 
while as a citizen he is held in the highest esteem by all who know him. 

Mr. Elting was married in Howard county, Iowa, to Miss Charlotte M. 
Robinson, a native of Warren county, New York, who' has borne him children 
as follows : Minnie A., the wife of Alva Dixon, of Carbon county, Wyom- 
ing; Ida M. ; Cora B. ; Frank E., a farmer of Madison township, Jasper 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 233 

county, who married Miss Estella Herdman, of Sheridan township ; Dudley 
I.; Charles L; Walter T., who died in infancy; and Florence P. Mr. Elting 
is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he fills the 
offices of steward and trustee, and the house of worship of his organization 
stands on his brother's land, and both contributed liberally toward its erection. 

J M. F. DOWNING. 

Prominently identified with the interests of Jasper county since the fall 
of 1874, Mr. M. F. Downing of Joplin is one of the best known and most 
highly esteemed citizens of this locality. He is the capable and energetic su- 
perintendent of the Grandy Mining Company, with which he has .been con- 
nected since 1887, when he became local secretary, and in 1890 was made 
superintendent of the Oronogo mines, where the company owns twenty mines 
in operation and employs five hundred men. 

Mr. Downing was born in Laporte county, Indiana, on July 18, 1844, 
and he was a son of Joseph and Julia Ann (Atkins) Downing. His grand- 
father, Francis Downing, who took part in the war of 1812, was one of the 
pioneer settlers who went to Franklin county, Ohio, from Pennsylvania. 
Joseph Downing, his son and the father of our subject, was born in Franklin 
county, Ohio. June 30, 181 1, and was reared there and learned the carpenter 
trade. After his marriage in Chillicothe, Ohio, he removed to Indiana about 
1832 and later became a successful builder and contractor in Michigan City, 
m 1857 he changed his location to Jefferson county, Kansas, settling on a 
farm near Oskaloosa, where he remained until 1877, when he came to Joplin. 
Here he made his home until 1891, at which time he removed to Kansas City, 
where he died in 1893, at the age of eighty-two years. 

The mother of our subject was, prior to her marriage, Julia Ann Atkins, 
who was born in Chautauqua county, New York, where she lived until young 
womanhood, accompanying her family then to Ross county, Ohio. Her birth 
occurred in 181 1 and she died in Oskaloosa, Kansas, in January, 1867. Her 
father was of Scotch and English ancestry, and late in life he moved from 
Ohio to Michigan where his last years were spent. The parents of our sub- 
ject reared eight children, three of whom are still surviving, and our subject 
was the second son of the family. 

Mr. Downing was about six years old when his parents became residents 
of Jasper county, Indiana, and was thirteen when they located in Jefferson 
county, Kansas. On September 25, 1861, he enlisted for service in the Civil 



234 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

war, entering Company B, Seventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. He gave four 
vears of faithful service in the Army of the Tennessee and took part in some 
of the greatest battles of the war, notably that of Corinth, and was honorably 
discharged on September 29, 1865, at Leavenworth, Kansas. 

During the following winter Mr. Downing attended school in Topeka, 
Kansas, and in the spring of 1866 he went to Salt Lake City and from there 
to Nevada, where he entered into the cattle business, which he followed with 
success for four years, returning to Kansas about 1870. The following three 
years were spent in farming, but in the summer of 1873 he opened up a 
grocery business in Lawrence, Kansas, where he remained one year and then 
came to Joplin, in the fall of 1874. He immediately became interested in 
mining and has been connected with this industry ever since. 

Mr. Downing was married in 1872 to Miss Anne Kirkpatrick, who was 
born in Cass county, Indiana, where she was reared, and she was a daughter 
of Henry Kirkpatrick, a farmer of that locality. Five children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Downing, as follows: Mabel, a teacher; Joseph W., 
who was born in Joplin, January 21, 1876, and is assisting his father; Blanche, 
deceased; Henry K., attending high school; and Ethel, also at school. 

Mr. Downing has always been an uncompromising Republican, has 
served as a member of the city council, and was also city treasurer for three 
terms and a member of the school board for a long time. His interest in edu- 
cational matters has made him one of the most efficient members of the board. 
Fraternally he is a member of Lodge No. 335, A. F. & A. M., of Joplin, has 
filled many of the official positions and was the secretary for eight years; also 
is a valued member of O. P. Morton Post, No. 14, G. A. R., in which he has 
served officially ; and is one of the leading members of the order of Knights 
and Ladies of Honor, of Joplin. Mr. Downing is one of the energetic and 
progressive men whose influence would be felt in any community, and he is 
widely known and esteemed throughout Jasper county. 

V JOHN S. LONG, A. B., M. D. 

Dr. John S. Long has been numbered among the physicians and surgeons 
of Joplin since 1896, and while he is one of the comparatively recent arrivals 
he does not hold second rank to any in his profession in the southwest. As a 
practitioner his skill and ability at once called him into prominence, and the 
liberal patronage which he now receives attests the confidence which the public 
reposes in him. 




JOHN S. LONG. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 237 

The Doctor is a native of northern Mississippi, his birth having there 
occurred in 1855. His father, John H. Long-, is a native of Tennessee, but 
prior to the Civil war removed to Mississippi, and is now living in Verona, 
that state. He and his three brothers were all soldiers in the Confederate army, 
loyally espousing the cause of their loved southland and the principles with 
which they had been familiar from boyhood. John H. Long was united in 
marriage to Miss Victoria Dismukes, of Hannibal, Missouri, a daughter of 
Robert Dismukes, who served as a soldier in a Missouri regiment during the 
Mexican war and was killed in battle. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Long were born 
three sons, the brothers of the Doctor being Rev. Samuel D. Long, D. D., and 
Harvey C. Long. The former is presiding elder of the Knoxville district of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, South, residing at Knoxville, Tennessee, and 
the latter is an attorney in Washington, D. C, and has won the degree of 
LL. D. 

Reared in his parents' home in Mississippi, Dr. J. S. Long pursued his 
preliminary education in the common schools and afterward entered the Uni- 
versity of Tennessee, at Knoxville, where he was graduated in 1879 with the 
degree of bachelor of arts and with the valedictorian honors of the classical 
department. Determining to make the practice of medicine his life work, he 
matriculated in the University Medical College, of New York City, received 
the distinguished honor of being made president of his class, graduating in 
1892. He afterward took a competitive examination in the New Jersey City 
Hospital, and a few weeks later took a similar examination for the position 
of interne in the Seney Hospital of Brooklyn. He was the successful candi- 
date in each examination, but resigned the interneship in the Jersey City Hos- 
pital to accept a similar position in the Seney Hospital, which is a Methodist 
institution. He served there as house physician and surgeon for eighteen 
months and afterward went to Crete, Nebraska, where he soon built up a large 
and lucrative practice. About 1894 and 1895, however, that portion of the 
country suffered from a hard drought, and, believing that it would be some 
time before it could recover from the effects. Dr. Long determined to seek a 
location elsewhere, and in 1896 came to Joplin, where he has since remained. 
He engaged at once in the general practice of medicine and surgery, and now 
has a paving business. He is also a partner in the Palace Drug Company, of 
Joplin, and this materially increases his income. 

The Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Nora, daughter of G. D. 
Streeter, formerly of Lancaster, Wisconsin, but a resident of Crete at the 
time of the marriage, which has been blessed with one son, John. The Doctor 
13 



238 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and is now serving on 
the official board as president. In his profession he has ever been a close and 
discriminating student and is deeply interested in everything that enables man 
to understand more fully the complex mystery of life and the problems of 
restoration and perpetuation of health. He is skilled in his chosen calling and 
his work has been of marked benefit to mankind. 

v GEORGE F. DAVIS. 

In no profession is there a career more open to talent than in that of the 
law, and in no field of endeavor is there •demanded a more careful prepara- 
tion, a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life or of the 
underlying principles which form the basis of all human rights and privileges. 
Unflagging application and intuitive wisdom and a determination to fully 
utilize the means at hand are the concomitants which insure personal success 
and prestige in this great profession, which stands as the stern conservator of 
justice; and it is one into which none should enter without a recognition of 
the obstacles to be overcome and the battles to be won. It is this which has 
brought success to Mr. Davis and made him known as one of the ablest repre- 
sentatives of the bar in this section of the state. 

George F. Davis is a native of the Prairie state, his birth having occurred 
en the 1 8th of February, 1846. He is a sou of Alexander and Priscilla (Mc- 
Kay) Davis, both natives of Kentucky. In 1845 the parents removed from 
.their native state to Illinois, and seven years later, in 1852, came to Missouri, 
where the wife and mother died in 1889, the father surviving until 1894, when 
he, too, was called to the world beyond. They had nine children who grew 
to years of maturity, seven of whom still survive, six sons and one daughter. 

Mr. Davis, of this review, received his education in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 
his parents having removed to Cedar county, Iowa, when he was about seven 
years of age. Choosing the profession of law as a life occupation, he imme- 
diately began the study thereof, and after completing his course, in 1867, he 
a once began practice in Iowa. He subsequently removed to> Livingston 
county. Missouri, where his brothers resided, but shortly afterward went to 
Carroll county, this state, where he followed the practice of law until 1887 — 
the year of his arrival in Sarcoxie, Jasper county. Here he has since made 
his home, and as the years have passed he has built up a large and lucrative 
practice, his success being entirely due to his own efforts and merit. He is 
one of the directors and a stockholder in the Sarcoxie State Bank, and is one 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 239 

of the largest real-estate owners in the eastern portion of Jasper county, own- 
ing twelve farms, all under cultivation. 

In 1869 occurred the marriage of Mr. Davis and Mellissa E. Dunfee, and 
they have two living children. The eldest, Maud L., is a graduate of Lexing- 
ton College, of Missouri, and is now the wife of W. T. Sabert, of Sarcoxie. 
They have two children, — Lucile and Fred. The second child, Eugene A., is 
at home with his parents. Mrs. Davis is a consistent member of the Meth- 
dist Episcopal church, South. Our subject is a free silver Republican, stanch 
in his advocacy of the principles of the party, but owing to his extensive prac- 
tice he has had little time to devote to public matters. He is, however, a loyal 
and public-spirited citizen, and on one occasion was chosen as a delegate to 
the Perdle Springs convention. Socially he is a member of Hale City Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M. Mr. Davis has won for himself very favorable criticism for 
the careful and systematic methods which he has followed. He stands high 
as an orator, and the care and precision with which he prepares his cases 
have made him one of the most successful lawyers in Jasper county. 



■i 



J. ALLEN HARDY. 



Among those who have shown business talent in the developing of the 
mining interests of Webb City is J. Allen Hardy, who was born near Han- 
nibal, Missouri, August 15, 1840. His parents were Joseph and Julia Ann 
( Gardner) Hardy, the former of whom was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, in 
January. 1812, and the latter in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1810. The paternal 
grandfather was Casper Hardy, a man of means and prominence in his 
locality. 

In 1846 J. Allen Hardy removed with his parents to Lafayette county, 
Wisconsin, and grew to manhood in the town of Shullsburg, where, at the age 
of fourteen, he began to work in the lead and zinc mines, continuing until 
1873. At that date he removed to Jasper county, Missouri, where he con- 
tinued his labors in the lead and zinc mines, becoming thoroughly familiar 
with every detail of this business. In 1882 Mr. Hardy came to Webb City 
and opened up what was known as the Hard}' & Lillibridge mine, which was 
sold to good advantage in 1891. 

The next contract taken by Mr. Hardy was the development of the Rich- 
land tract, and this was finally sold to the Richland Mining Company. For 
several years he mined the Duenweg property where he continued for four 
\ears and then disposed of his interests there and bought a lease on the Porter 



240 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

tract, later selling to the Cordell Lead & Zinc Company, of which he is the 
president and manager. He also owns property in Moniteau county, Mis- 
souri, which is being developed. 

Mr. Hardy was married, in 1862, to Miss Emily Edstrom, who was a 
daughter of Paul Edstrom, of Boston, Massachusetts, and to this marriage 
have been born four sons and six daughters : Harriet, wife of James Mc- 
Kanna, of Joplin ; Mary, who is the wife of Dr. Tyree, of Webb City ; George, 
who lives in Webb City ; Alice, who is the wife of George Burgner, of Joplin ; 
Catherine; Anna, who is the wife of Benjamin C. Aylor, of Webb City; J. 
Allen, Jr ; Thomas ; Agnes, who is a student in a convent ; and Herbert. 

In politics Mr. Hardy adheres to the gold wing of the Democratic party. 
Socially he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and he is 
a director in the Mine Producers' Association. His life has been one of prom- 
inence in mining circles and he is regarded as one of the most reliable author- 
ities in that line in this rich mineral district. His opinion is very often asked 
and taken, as his judgment has proved of great value to those who- have had 
the greatest financial interests placed in this locality. 

MOSES ELLIOTT. 

One of the well known old settlers of Jasper county, Missouri, whose 
home has been here since 1859, is Moses Elliott, who resides on section 36, 
in Mineral township. His birth was in Athens county, Ohio, on February 4, 
1849, ail d ne was a son °f John Elliott, who was born in Killy Beggs, county 
Donegal, Ireland, on May 1, 1816, and came with his father to America, locat- 
ing first in Washington county, Pennsylvania, later removing to Athens 
county, Ohio, in the early days of its settlement. John Elliott remained in 
Ohio* until 1859, at this date coming to Jasper county, Missouri, and locating 
near Spring River, seven miles west of Carthage, and died on his farm there, 
in 1879. 

The mother of our subject was formerly Charlotta Mansfield, who was 
a daughter of Thomas Mansfield, who> had been a soldier in the Revolutionary 
war, and his widow received a pension on that account. The Mansfields came 
of an old and distinguished family of Maryland. • Nine children were born 
:o< the parents of our subject, and of such sturdy constitution that all grew to 
maturity, our subject being the fourth in order of age. He was but ten years 
eld when the family removal was made to Jasper county, and here he attended 
school, remaining with his parents until 1861. At that time he went back to 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 241 

Ohio and remained there until 1865, but then returned to Jasper county and 
engaged in farming until 1875, when he went to Arizona and began mining. 
For the following five years he continued to mine, and then came back to his 
farm, in Jasper county. In 1885 he found the first lead on his land and began 
mining, also continued in farming. 

Mr. Elliott was married in 1890 to Miss Laura Stults, who> is a native of 
Springfield, Illinois, where she was reared and educated, and she was a 
daughter of J. W. Stults, who was a native of Kentucky and was one of the 
early settlers of Jasper county. Since 1896 Mr. Elliott has been a Democrat, 
and is one of the best known among the early residents of the county. 



J 



JUDGE J. M. HICKMAN. 



Among the well known and prominent residents of Jasper county Judge 
Hickman is numbered. He has been active in public affairs and at the same 
time is a leading farmer and stock-raiser, successfully conducting his business. 
lie was born in Allen county, Kentucky, October 7, J841, and represents one 
of the old families of that state. His grandfather, Jesse Hickman, was one 
of the earliest settlers there. Anthony G. Hickman, the father, was born in 
Hickman county, Kentucky, and resided upon a farm- for a number of years. 
hi 1849 ne came to Missouri and entered land in Moniteau county, where he 
improved a farm, continuing its cultivation until his death, which occurred 
when he was about seventy-two^ years of age. He was a minister of the Bap- 
tist church and did much missionary work in the early days. His upright 
life, as well as his precepts, had marked influence upon all with whom he came 
in contact, and his memory remains as a blessed benediction to* all who knew 
him. He wedded Miss Mary Dearing, a native of Kentucky, who died in Cal- 
ifornia, when about seventy years of age. This worthy couple were the par- 
ents of five sons and four daughters, all of whom reached mature years, while 
eight are yet living. 

Judge Hickman is the third son and sixth child in the family, and was 
eight years of age when he became a resident of Moniteau county, Missouri. 
He pursued his early education in a log school-house, such as was common 
at that time on the frontier, and in May, 1862, when twenty-one years of age, 
he responded to his country's call, enlisting as a member of Company H, 
Twenty-second Missouri Infantry, for six months. On the expiration of that 
period he re-enlisted as a member of Company G, Missouri State Militia, 
and thus served until the close of the war, when he was honorably dis- 



242 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

charged at Jefferson City, Missouri, returning to his home with a creditable 
military record won by continued faithfulness to duty. 

While in the service Judge Hickman was married, in 1864, to Robinett 
Langley, a native of Jasper county, Missouri. Her father, James N. Langley, 
settled in this county in 1840, casting in his lot among its pioneers. Here he 
followed farming until 1867, when he sold his property to Jabes Petefish, who 
still owns the farm. Mrs. Hickman was reared in Jasper county, and after 
their marriage the Judge and his wife resided in Moniteau county until 1866, 
when they came to> this county and took up their abode upon the farm, which 
has since been their home. It was then a tract of raw land, entirely destitute 
of improvements, but with characteristic energy he began its cultivation and 
now has a valuable property. His financial resources have increased and he 
has extended the bounds of his farm by additional purchases until it now com- 
prises about seven hundred acres of valuable land. He carries on general 
farming and stock-raising and has made a specialty of the raising of mules 
and cattle. He is progressive in his methods, systematic in his work and dili- 
gent in all he does, and these qualities have brought to' him creditable success. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Hickman has been blessed with nine children, 
namely : Mead ; Linnie, wife of James Riley, of Joplin ; Grace, the wife of 
John Swartz, of Webb City, Missouri ; Maude, who is the widow of Harvey 
Lewis and is at home; George G., a resident farmer of Jasper county; Pearl, 
the wife of Fred Leidy, an agriculturist; and Macy, John and Ray, who are 
still with their parents. The family have a very pleasant home and enjoy the 
warm regard of a large circle of friends. In his political views the Judge is a 
Democrat. He keeps well informed on the issues of the day, is an active 
worker in the party ranks and his efforts have been efficient and valuable in 
this locality. In 1S98 he was elected presiding judge for a term of four years 
and has since capably filled the position. Justice, right and ecmity are exem- 
plified in his official duties, and he has won the high commendation of all con- 
cerned by Ins fidelity to the trust reposed in him. 

W. C. ROUTZONG. 

As notary public, justice of the peace and editor of the Oronogo "Index," 
W. C. Routzong is one of the leading citizens of Jasper county, Missouri. 
His birth occurred in Montgomery county, Indiana, on September 9, 1836, 
although both father and grandfather were natives of Maryland. The latter, 
Conrad Routzong, settled in Jefferson City, Missouri, in the fall of 1836. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 243 

Christian Routzong, the father of our subject, was born in Hagerstown, 
Maryland, about 1830 moved to Indiana, and six years later removed to Mer- 
cer county, Illinois, where he followed farming and worked at the carpenter 
trade. He became prominent in that county, was made justice of the peace 
and for many years was one of the leading Whigs. He died at the age of 
forty-nine years, in Rock Island county, Illinois, in 1857. The mother of our 
subject was Catherine Cline, who was a native of Pennsylvania, and was a 
daughter of John Cline, who went from Pennsylvania to Illinois about 1836 
and diecf in Rock Island county. He was of German ancestry. 

Our subject was the fifth child in a family of twelve children born to his 
parents and he was about six weeks old when the family left Indiana. His 
early life was spent in Illinois where he received his education. When about 
eighteen years of age he left home and went to work on neighboring farms for 
a time, but when the call came for soldiers in the Civil war, Mr. Routzong 
was one of the first to enlist for the three months' service, entering Company 
D, Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was the first man in his township 
to re-enlist for three years or for the war. He became a member of the Forty- 
seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry and after years of faithful and conscien- 
tious service, of fighting and exposure, he received his honorable discharge at 
Springfield. 

In i860 Mr. Routzong was married, in DeWitt, Iowa, to Miss Susan 
Ames, and the family born of this marriage consisted of: Hurbert D., who 
is editor of the "Muldrow Press," at Muldrow, Indian Territory; Ulysses S., 
who has been connected with the same business house in Kansas City for the 
past fifteen years; Olive M., who- married Charles Worth; Ida I., who mar- 
ried W. S. Jackson, of Oronogo; Edna M., who married Charles J. Irwin, of 
Oronogo; and Lorena S., who married Charles Brown, of Texas. The second 
marriage of our subject was to Mrs. Lillian A. (Caldwell) Landis, the widow 
of William Landis, and they have one child, — Eric Caldwell. 

Following his first marriage our subject made his home in Iowa, but after 
his return from the army he remained for two years in Rock Island, Illinois, 
and then moved to Anderson county, Kansas, where he engaged in farming 
and also opened up a business in lumber and hardware, and in the following 
year was made postmaster of Kincaid, efficiently holding this office for four 
years. For twelve years Mr. Routzong was justice of the peace and also filled 
the office of notary public and was one of the leading men of that locality. In 
1892 he removed to Oronogo, Missouri, and established the "Index," which 
has been one of the leading journals of the county ever since. One year later 



244 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Mr. Routzong was made postmaster and for four years was one of the best 
officials the town ever had. In 1896 his personal popularity was proven by 
his election to the office of justice of the peace, and this was emphasized in 
1898 by a re-election. In the same year he was made a notary public, was 
clerk of the city and is now police judge and one of the leaders in the Demo- 
cratic party. Socially Mr. Routzong is connected with the Masonic order 
and is one of the representative citizens of Jasper county. 

^ M. L. HARDEN. 

Among the numerous natives of Ohio who have achieved success and 
honor in Missouri, M. L. Harden, a well-known mine operator at Carterville, 
Jasper county, has attained enviable prominence. Mr. Harden was born in 
Old Boston, a small village in Clermont county, Ohio, April 8, 1849. His 
father, Daniel Kidd Harden, was a minister of the Methodist church, who for 
thirty years rode a circuit. He removed to Illinois in 185 1 and thence to Kan- 
sas in 1858. He was elected to represent Lyon county, Kansas, in the state 
legislature, and died in 1871. His father was named Peter Harden. The 
mother of our subject was by maiden name Melinda Carpenter, and she was 
born in Kentucky, in 181 2, and was taken in childhood to Clermont county, 
Ohio, where her father was an early settler. She died in Carterville, Mis- 
souri, in her eighty-second year. Daniel Kidd and Melinda (Carpenter) 
Harden had five sons and two daughters, named as follows, all of whom grew 
to manhood and womanhood: David C, Rebecca Ann, Amanda, John M., 
William I. F. Fee, M. L. and Daniel Kidd Harden. 

The subject of this sketch received his early education in the public 
schools of Illinois, and took a collegiate course at Hartford, Kansas. While 
pursuing his studies he taught school and was for a time employed on a con- 
struction train by the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company, which ran 
between Junction City and Parsons, Kansas. He entered business life as a 
merchant at Hartford, Kansas, and remained there ten years. From Hartford 
he removed to Joplin," Missouri, where he prospected and mined and kept a 
butcher store until 1882, when he located at Carterville, where he has given 
his attention to mining and dealing in stock, and where since 1890 he has 
mined exclusively. He formerly operated on leases but has gradually ac- 
quired mining property of his own and for several years has operated so exten- 
sively as to give employment to sixty men. In July, 1901, he dropped his 
leases and from now on will attend strictly to his own property. 




M. L. HARDEH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 245 

In 1880 Mr. Harden married Miss Mary A. Duchemin, of Old Boston, 
Ohio, and they have two daughters, named Lucy Maud and Mary Ho. Mr. 
Harden' s father, Lieutenant Harden, won an enviable reputation as a soldier 
in the Civil war, and for a time commanded his company. He was discharged 
for disability after three years' arduous service, and his death occurred in 
Hartford, Kansas, in August, 1874. He has four sons, all of whom have 
served the United States government as soldiers. Mr. Harden is a member of 
the Knights of Pythias and is a popular citizen of much enterprise and public 
spirit, who exerts himself to the utmost to advance all measures which in his 
judgment tend to the enhancement of the public weal. 



F. S. GOBAR. 

F. S. Gobar dates his residence in Jasper county from 1876, and is there- 
fore numbered among its early settlers as well as the leading business men. 
He is a native of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in the city of 
Buffalo, and he is descended from an old and prominent family. His father 
was a brave and loyal soldier in the war of 1812. F. S. Gobar, of this review, 
removed from his native state to Henry county, Missouri, where he resided 
for ten years. Since coming to Jasper county he has been engaged in mining 
pursuits, principally on his own account, and his close attention to business 
and untiring efforts have brought to him a handsome competence. He opened 
up the Two Johns mine, which was a rich and valuable property and which he 
afterward sold at a large profit. He is now operating on the Murphy prop- 
erty, which is equally as rich in its mineral deposits. 

As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Gobar chose 
Miss Jane Humbart, who is of French extraction and a native of the state 
of New York. They are the parents of the following children: Theo, who is 
engaged in business with his father ; Ernest, head clerk of the Willow Branch 
shoe store ; William, engaged in the hardware business at Bullock ; Charles, 
who is engaged in the manufacture of cigars ; Joe, also engaged in business 
with his father ; Toby, attending school ; Mrs. John Kemmer, whose husband 
is engaged in the manufacture of cigars in Joplin ; and Mrs. Frank Shetelle, 
of Kansas City. In his political affiliations Mr. Gobar is a firm believer in the 
principles of Democracy. In all his business relations he has commanded the 
confidence and good will of his fellow men by his honorable and systematic 
methods, his fairness and his enterprise. He carries forward to successful 



246 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

completion whatever he undertakes, and as the result of his sound judgment 
and unfaltering industry he is now accounted one of the wealthy mine operators 
of his adopted state. 

GEORGE E. WHEATO.N. 

It is probable that there is not in the United States a more experienced 
mining engineer than George E. Wheaton, of Joplin, Missouri, who, during 
the two years he has operated in the district has reported upon, superintended 
or been connected otherwise with more than one hundred and seventeen mines. 
Mr. Wheaton, who is a native of Henry county, Illinois, is of pure Holland 
descent, his ancestors having come to New York in the first vessel that arrived 
there from Holland. For twenty-four years he has engaged in the mining 
profession, and now gives attention to four metals — gold, copper, manganese 
and zinc. He believes that zinc, which is comparatively a new metal, has a 
great future and that its uses will be multiplied almost indefinitely. He is 
a believer in Missouri as a field for mining operations, and fully intends to 
devote his life to mining here. He is the superintendent of the Anderson 
mines at Chitwood, one of the great mining properties of the district, and is 
otherwise identified with mining interests. 

J. T. B. YARYAN. 

One of the prominent agriculturists of section 20, Twin Grove township, 
Jasper county, Missouri, is J. T. B. Yaryan, a native of Wapello county, Iowa, 
his birth having occurred there on the 29th of January, 1848, his parents being" 
Jacob and Sarah (Bedell) Yaryan, the former a native of Stark county, Ohio, 
where he was married and then moved to Indiana and thence to Iowa, locating 
in Wapello county, about 1836. He there engaged in farming until his death, 
which occurred when he was fifty-six years of age. His wife was a native 
of Indiana, where she was reared until about thirteen years and then went to 
Ohio. She is still living, at the age oi eighty-eight years, and resides in 
Ottumwa, Wapello* county, Iowa. She and her husband were both of German 
descent and became the parents oi seven children, one daughter and six sons. 

J. T. B. Yaryan was the fifth child and fourth son of his father's family, 
and was reared in his native county until nineteen years of age and then moved 
to Ringgold county, Iowa. In 1865 he responded to his country's call for 
troops to maintain the Union, enlisting in Company E, Twenty-second Iowa 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 247 

Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and served until the close of the war. He 
then returned to Iowa and from there went to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1870, 
first locating five miles north and west of the present site of Joplin, though 
there was no town there at that time and not a mining shaft had been sunk. 
He engaged in farming in Galena township and also in mining until 1890, 
when he bought his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which is now 
all under a high state of cultivation and well improved with good barns and 
other outbuildings and a large farm house which he has erected, the latter 
having all the modern accessories and conveniences. 

Mr. Yaryan has been twice married, first in Iowa to> Miss Sarah Holt, by 
whom he had two children, Clara, deceased; and Delia. After the mother's 
death Mr. Yaryan was again married, in Jasper county, in 1875, to Miss Ella 
Holt, and they have five children : Burchard, George, Nellie, Ray and Ross. 

Mr. Yaryan is a strong Republican in his political views and has held 
local offices. He was nominated for county treasurer in 1900 on the Repub- 
lican ticket, but was defeated by a small majority. He takes an active inter- 
est in all public matters, is a member of Carl Junction Post, G. A. R., and holds 
membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a progressive and suc- 
cessful farmer and raises some fine cattle, making a specialty of the breeding 
of Jersey stock. 






AMBROSE B. McKEE. 

The family of Mr. McKee is an old one in Tennessee, where members of 
it have been prominent for many generations. One of its worthy representa- 
tives in Missouri is Ambrose B. McKee, of Joplin, Jasper county, superin- 
tendent of the Grand Master mines, on the Becky Sharp lease. 

Mr. McKee' s father was a native of Tennessee and his forefathers came 
from Scotland. His mother, whose name was Laura Pulley, was born in 
Tennessee also. Ambrose B. McKee married Miss Ellen Cox, who was born 
in northern Missouri. He went to Joplin in 1871, since which time he has 
been mining there constantly. He has opened up several productive mines, 
among them the Rising Sun mine and the Black Cat mine at Webb City. 
From the first he has operated on his own account, and he is the proprietor of 
an interest in Easter mine, at Duenweg, in Joplin township, Jasper county. 
Some time ago he was for a period of eight months superintendent of the Grand 
Master mine, a position to which he returned March 1, 1901. This mine occu- 
pies six lots, on which four shafts have been sunk to a depth of one hundred 



2 4 S BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

and forty feet. Mr. McKee, who is regarded as one of the best informed, 
practical miners of the district, is an influential Democrat and a member of the 
Royal Tribe of Joseph. 

LESLIE W. WINTER. 

Honored and respected by all, there is no man in Jasper county who occu- 
pies a more enviable position in mining and financial circles than Leslie W. 
Winter, not alone on account of the brilliant success he has achieved, but also 
on account of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever fol- 
lowed. He possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans 
readily and is determined in their execution ; and his close application to busi- 
ness and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of 
prosperity which to-day is his. Since 1884 he has been connected with mining 
interests in Jasper county, and has done much toward the development of the 
mineral resources of this portion of the state. 

Mr. Winter represents one of the old families of Ohio, his grandfather, 
his father and himself all having been born in Cuyahoga county, while the 
ancestry of the family were originally from Massachusetts. The father, M. C. 
Winter, is now a resident of Joplin. He married Miss Nettie Johnson, a na- 
tive of Rock Island county, Illinois, where her people were early settlers. Mr. 
Winter, of this review, has spent the greater part of his life in the west, having 
become a resident of Elk Falls, Kansas, in the early '70s. In 1884 he 
arrived in Jasper county. He was then hardly more than a boy, but he began 
mining on his own account, and the rich mineral deposits of lead and zinc have 
since given him a field of labor. He began mining on his own account and also 
managed several mines for others. He opened some good mines and estab- 
lished a reputation for expert work and accurate knowledge concerning the 
location and value of minerals. 

Mr. Winter has devoted his entire life to this line of work, and his close 
application and unfaltering determination have enabled him to overcome all 
difficulties and work his way steadily upward. He is now superintendent of 
the Old Colony Zinc & Smelting Company, of Boston, Massachusetts, which 
was organized in 1899, and is operating extensively in the rich mineral fields 
of southwestern Missouri. It is composed of some of the most conservative 
and reliable business men of Boston and vicinity, who give their personal 
attention to the affairs of the company. The following are included in the 
list of officers and directors : Colonel Albert Clarke, Elias J. Bliss and George 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 249 

W. Parker, of Boston; Hon. P. C. Cheney, of Manchester, New Hampshire; 
Hon. D. Rusell Brown, of Providence, Rhode Island; H. P. Stimpson, of 
Boston ; and L. W. Winter, who has been actively engaged in zinc mining in 
the Joplin district for the past twenty years. The company owns at Neck City, 
in this county, one of the most flourishing camps in southwestern Missouri, 
having the fee to two hundred and thirty-seven and a half acres of land, upon 
which there are four mills. The company has a shaft seven by fourteen feet 
and two hundred and eighty-five feet in depth— the deepest in southwestern 
Missouri. They are drifting at two hundred and eighty feet in excellent ore, 
and the value of their property is indicated by the statement of George B. 
Paxton, a mining engineer, who says : "In my opinion it will prove richer 
than any other similar sized tract in this district," while P. L. Crossman, who 
has been drilling in all parts of the district for over thirty years, and who did 
the drilling on this ground, says : "This is, to the best of my knowledge and 
information, the greatest discovery of the best continuous body of paying ore 
ground in this mineral district." Ever since its organization the Old Colony 
Zinc and Smelting Company has paid regular quarterly dividends at the rate 
of ten per cent per annum. At Webb City the company has a lease on forty 
lots in the Missouri zinc fields, and are operating the Harvard mine and mill, 
the mine being one of the best producers in the locality, running forty tons of 
ore per week. They also own the Yale mine at Webb City, and at Galena, 
Kansas, have the White Rose mine and mill and ten lots of the Murphy land. 
They also have the Black Jack mine on land belonging to the South Side Min- 
ing Company and all of these mines are in operation. The company is one of 
the strongest and is operating among the most extensive in the district. Mr. 
Winter was largely instrumental in securing these mines and mills and the 
land, and of the Old Colony Zinc & Smelting Company he is not only gen- 
eral manager but is also a director and the secretary of the company. He is 
also secretary and treasurer of the Joplin Street Improvement & Construc- 
tion Company, of which E. J. Overley is president and A. G. Jennings vice- 
president and general manager. This company now has under construction 
ninety miles of railroad and has two contracts for constructing sewers in East 
Joplin that will pay twelve thousand dollars. Their office is in the Bank of 
Joplin. 

Air. Winter was married in Joplin, hi 1892, to Miss Ella Coleman, of 
this city, but formerly of Topeka, Kansas. She is a daughter of William H. 
Coleman, who was born in New York City and removed to Kansas at an early 
day. He was there at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, and, joining 



250 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

the Union army, he served as captain of a Kansas company. After the war 
he was for two terms a member of the state senate and was very prominent 
and influential in public affairs owing to his ability and fitness for leadership. 
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Winter has been born but one child, Neva, who is now in 
her eighth year. 

The name of Mr. Winter figures prominently in connection with political 
interests in southwestern Missouri.. He is firm and loyal in his support of 
Republican principles, and does all in his power to promote the growth 
and insure the success of the party. He has been chairman of the Republican 
congressional committee for the fifteenth district and also chairman of the 
Republican city committee. He served for one term as deputy sheriff of the 
county and also as constable for two years. Socially he is connected with the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica, and in both organizations he enjoys the high regard of his brethren. The 
career of Leslie Winter has ever been such as to warrant the trust and confi- 
dence of the business world, for he has ever conducted all transactions on the 
strictest principles of honor and integrity. His devotion to the public good 
is unquestioned and arises from a sincere interest in the welfare of his fellow 
men. 



/ 



CHARLES O. HARRINGTON. 



Charles O. Harrington, proprietor of the Harrington House in Carthage, 
Missouri, was born in Seneca county, New York, December 14, 1844, and is 
descended from some of the oldest New England families, his ancestors on , 
both sides having emigrated to this country over two hundred years ago. The. 
old Harrington homestead, at Brookfield, Massachusetts, descended, accord-, 
ing to the old English custom, from father to the eldest son for many genera- 
tions. Several of his ancestors fought in defense of American independence 
in the Revolutionary war, one of whom, John Harrington, was killed at the 
battle of Lexington. Ransley Harrington, the father of our subject, married 
Mary Hall, of Carlton, Massachusetts, a cousin of William Marcy, who served 
as governor of New York from 1832 until 1838. He was afterward secre- 
tary of war under President Van Buren and secretary of state under President 
Pierce. 

Charles O. Harrington, whose name introduces this review, was a mem- 
ber of the sophomore class in Genesee College, of Lima, New York, when the 
Civil war was inaugurated, and with several of his fellow students he entered 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 251 

the service, being assigned to Company G, Twenty-seventh Regiment of New 
York Volunteers. He participated in all of the important battles from that 
of Bull Run to the second battle of Fredericksburg, and was also detailed as 
a scout, experiencing many "hair-breadth" escapes. He was several times 
captured, having escaped from Bell Island before being exchanged by swim- 
ming the James river on a dark and stormy night, and on another occasion he 
scaled the palisade at Salisbury, North Carolina, under fire. 

In September, 1869, Mr. Harrington was united in marriage with Ida 
A. Britton, of Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Harrington have two chil- 
dren. Walter, the eldest child, resides in Carthage, where he is engaged in 
the tobacco and news business. Alice is the wife of Ray Ream, chief clerk in 
the Harrington Hotel. 

In the fall of 1870 Mr. Harrington removed with his family to Carthage, 
Missouri, where he has ever since resided. He has met with reverses during 
his business career, and on the 16th of January, 1880, he suffered a great loss 
by fire, which destroyed four buildings, but within four months from that 
time he had erected one of the finest buildings in the city. His hotel, which 
was built at a cost of forty thousand dollars, is located on the southeast corner 
of the square, and is known as the Harrington House. This hotel is one of 
the finest west of the Mississippi. Mr. Harrington has always taken an ac- 
tive interest in public affairs, and is regarded as one of the leading and enter- 
prising men of the locality. 

JOHN B. SHIPPEN. 

John B. Shippen, deceased, was born in Ohio, near Cincinnati, on the 
8th of January, 1827. For many years he was known as one of the unassum- 
ing but genuinely good men of Jasper count)-, and his death, which occurred 
on the 6th of November, 1884, was mourned by a large circle of friends and 
acquaintances. Mr. Shippen was reared in the state of his nativity, where 
he early became familiar with the work of the farm in all its departments. 
On leaving that state he took up his residence in Montgomery county, Indiana, 
but subsequently became a resident of Parke county, Indiana, and thence came 
to Jasper county, Missouri. After his arrival in this state he located on the 
farm where his widow still resides, on section 27, Mineral township. He 
was a life-long Republican, and was active in the ranks of his party, having 
held a number of local township offices. He was a worthy and honored mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and during his lifetime did evervthing 



252 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

in his power to promote the work of the church, the cause of religion ever 
rinding in him a warm and sympathizing friend. 

As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Shippen chose 
Amanda C. Thompson, who was born in Nelson county, Kentucky, May 22, 
1842, a daughter of James A. Thompson, also a native of that state, where 
he was reared and married. When Mrs. Shippen was about thirteen years of 
age he removed to> Edgar county, Illinois, and afterward took up his abode in 
Parke county, Indiana, where he departed this life at the age O'f fifty years. He 
was first married to Amanda C. Humphrey, a native of Kentucky, and who 
died in the year of their marriage. Mr. Thompson was afterward again mar- 
ried, to a sister of his former wife, Miss Miranda A. Humphrey, and they 
became the parents of eight children, of whom James S. was the youngest. 
He was reared by Mrs. Shippen from the age of eighteen months. He mar- 
ried Stella Cox, who was born in Park county, Indiana, a daughter of John 
and Sarah (Thomas) Thompson. Mrs. Shippen is the only child of her fa- 
ther's first marriage. She was thirteen years of age when she was taken to 
Illinois, and two years later removed to Parke county, Indiana, where she was 
married on the 3d of March, 1863. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ship- 
pen removed to Fountain county, Indiana, but subsecmently returned to Parke 
county, where they remained until 1883, — the year of their arrival in Jasper 
county, Missouri. After coming to this state they located on the farm on 
which Mrs. Shippen still resides, then consisting of one hundred and sixty 
acres but now of one hundred and twenty acres. After a happy married life 
of twenty-one years the husband was called to the world beyond, and in his 
death the community lost a valued and representative citizen. His friends 
were many, and in the communities where he resided he won the love and 
respect of all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. 

ROBERT A. WILSON. 

Although a young man, Robert A. Wilson has been in the public service 
for several years and is one of the most trusted and capable officials among 
those who at the present time have charge of the various departments of the 
business for Jasper county. He is filling the position of county collector, hav- 
ing entered upon the duties of the office in March, 1901, for a two years' term. 

Mr. Wilson is one of Missouri's native sons, his birth having occurred 
in Moberly, Randolph county, in July, 1873. His father, A. A. Wilson, is 
also a native of this state, and in August, 1880, he removed with his family to 




ROBERT A. WILSOH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 255 

Joplin, where lie still makes his home. During his boyhood our subject accom- 
panied his parents to this place and entered the public schools, pursuing the 
high school course and thus becoming well equipped for the duties of a business 
career. In 1897, when twenty-four years of age, he was elected to the position 
of city collector of Joplin, and so well did he discharge the duties of the office 
that he was re-elected for a second term, his incumbency continuing until 1901, 
covering a period of four years. In November his name was on the Demo- 
cratic ticket as the candidate for county collector, and the people expressed 
their confidence in his ability and trustworthiness by choosing him for the more 
important office which he is now filling. 

Mr. Wilson was married in Joplin, in 1896, the lady of his choice being 
Miss Lula Rogers, of this city. They have a pleasant and attractive home and 
its gracious hospitality is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. The circle 
of their acquaintance in Joplin is very extensive, owing to their long residence 
here. Socially Mr, Wilson is connected with the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica and his prominence in the order is indicated by the fact that he was chosen 
delegate at large for the state of Missouri. He also has membership relations 
with the Knights of Pythias fraternity, the Benevolent Protective Order of 
Elks and the Masonic lodge. As an officer he is courteous and obliging, while 
at the same time he is most true and loyal to his duties and prompt in the execu- 
tion thereof. 

THOMAS J. CROSBY. 

Many years have passed since T. J. Crosby came to Jasper county, 
Missouri, to cast in his lot with its pioneers, and during this time he has nobly 
performed his duty in establishing and maintaining the material interests and 
moral welfare of his community. A native of Perry county, Ohio, he was 
born on the ;th of October, 1832. His father, John Crosby, also a native of 
Perry county, Ohio, became a prominent agriculturist of his locality. In 1844 
he located on a farm in Lawrence county. Illinois, where he died at the a°"e 
of fifty-three years, honored and respected by all who knew him. His political 
support was given to the W nig party, and of the Methodist Episcopal church 
he was a worthy and consistent member. His father, Edward Crosby, was 
a native of Wales, but when a young man came to America, locating first 
in Pennsylvania and afterward in Ohio. For a companion on the journey of 
life John Crosby chose Miss Elizabeth Taylor, who was a native of the Old 
Dominion but was reared in Ohio from the age of fourteen years. She reached 
the ripe old age of ninety. Her father, Thomas Taylor, was a native of Ire- 



14 



256 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

land, but came to America in early life, locating in Virginia, where he engaged 
in agricultural pursuits. John and Elizabeth (Taylor) Crosby became the 
parents of seven children, six of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, 
and our subject was the third child and third son in order of birth. 

T. J. Crosby accompanied his parents on their removal to Illinois when 
he was thirteen years of age. In 1854. he made the overland trip "to California 
with a drove of cattle, going by way of St. Louis, St. Joseph and Salt Lake 
to Sacramento, and he walked the entire distance from Salt Lake City to 
his destination. During the journey the Mormons stole many of their horses. 
Mr. Crosby spent three years in the Golden state, engaged in mining, and in 
lSjy he returned to New York City by way of the Panama route, spending 
twenty-four days on the water. From the Empire state he made his way to 
Ohio and thence to his home in Illinois, where he again resumed the work of 
the farm, his time being thus employed until the trouble between the north 
and south resulted in civil war. In 1861 he donned the blue in defense of 
his country, going to the front as a member of Company A, Sixty-second Illi- 
nois Volunteer Infantry, in which he served with honor and distinction until 
the 7th of March, 1866, when peace was again restored and his services were 
no longer needed. He took part in many of the important and hard-fought 
battles of the war, including the first battle of Vicksburg. On the 20th of 
December, 1862, he was captured at Holly Springs, Mississippi, and sent to 
St. Louis, there remaining until his exchange, after which he spent six months 
at Jefferson barracks. He then assisted in the capture of Brownsville and 
Little Rock, took part in many of the engagements of Steele's expedition to 
join General Banks at Shreveport, and then returned to Pine Bluff, where he 
was stationed at the time of the surrender. He was honorably discharged at 
Fort Gibson, and with a creditable military record he returned to his home in 
Illinois, for the long and terrible struggle was past and the battles fought 
and won. 

In 1868 Mr. Crosby sold his property in Illinois and again started on the 
long and tedious journey to California, but he did not go beyond Salt Lake 
City, however, as the Indian wars of that year compelled him to return. While 
on his way home he passed through Jasper county, Missouri, and, being favor- 
ably impressed with the locality, he decided to locate here, and accordingly 
purchased the land which he still owns, and which is located on section 25, 
Mineral township. He has since made many improvements upon his place, 
has placed his fields under a fine state of cultivation, and in 1876 erected his 
present commodious stone residence, which contains specimens of stone from 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 257 

fourteen different states and territories. Mr. Crosby is recognized as one of 
the leading agriculturists of his community, and during the many years which 
have come and gone since he took up his residence in this favored spot he has 
participated and assisted in the slow, persistent work of development which 
has produced such a wonderful change in Jasper county. 

On the 4th of March, 1858, in Illinois, he was united in marriage with 
Ellen Kimes, a native of Ohio. They have had seven children, namely : Mary, 
deceased ; John L. ; Flora J. ; Elmer, deceased ; Henry ; Gordon, deceased ; and 
Ada Bell. In his political affiliations Mr. Crosby is a stanch Republican, and 
was a great admirer of General Grant. He maintains pleasant relations with 
his old army comrades of the blue by his membership in Cameron Garrett 
Post, No. 115, G. A. R., in which he has filled all of the chairs and in which 
he is a prominent and active worker. He is a member in excellent standing 
of the Methodist Protestant church, in which he has held the office of steward, 
and has also served as secretary of the quarterly conference and as chairman of 
the advising committee and board of trustees. The family is one of promi- 
nence in the community, and its .members are honest, energetic and progressive, 
— the class of people who build up any section and make it a leading place 
among - the communities of the state. 



y 



SHERMAN N. OUALLS. 



The value of character has been exemplified in the life of the subject of 
this sketch, who is one of the comparatively few prominent residents of Car- 
thage, Jasper county, Missouri, who is a native of the state. Mr. Quails was 
born in Greene county, near Springfield, January 29, 1866, a son of Aaron N. 
and Elizabeth (Ward) Quails. The father was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, 
in 1826, and the mother, who was a daughter of 'William Ward, an early set- 
tler of that state, was born in western Tennessee, in 1828. The first American 
representative of the family of Quails came from Scotland, and the family 
has long been represented in Tennessee. 

Sherman N. Quails lived in Oronogo, Jasper county, Missouri, from 1872 
until 1899, when he removed to Webb City, where his father is living a life 
of retirement. He was educated at Oronogo and at the Carthage Business 
College, in which he was graduated in 1890. After his graduation he was for 
eighteen months a bookkeeper for J. N. Stults, of Oronogo. Afterward he 
was deputy assessor of the city of Carthage, under Assessors O. B. Morris 
and Hiram Phillips. In 1890 he was elected assessor of Jasper county by a 



258 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

large vote for a term of four years, running two hundred and fifty votes ahead 
of his ticket. 

In October, 1889, Mr. Quails married Miss Mary Offield, a daughter of 
Lewis Offield, of Cedar county, Missouri, and they have four children, named 
George W., J. Herman, Blanche and Gertrude. Mr. Quails took a very active 
part in politics during the campaign of 1896, in which McKinley and Bryan 
were for the first time opposing candidates for the office of president, and he 
also took a conspicuous part in the campaign of 1900. He filled the office of 
city collector of Oronogo for two years, and was for two years street com- 
missioner. He is a member of the Knights and Ladies of Security, and per- 
sonally is very popular wherever he is known. As an official, he has met 
every responsibility devolving upon him and he has fulfilled the duties of his 
several offices with a degree of courtesy that has made conference with him 
upon any matter a real pleasure to every one interested. 



MARION BROWN. 

On the roster of county officials in Jasper county appears the name of 
Marion Brown. He is capably filling the position of probate judge, and is 
well qualified for the onerous duties which devolve upon him, being a man of 
excellent business abilitv, keen discernment and sound judgment. He is rec- 
ognized as one of the leading and influential citizens of the community and his 
worth is widely acknowledged. 

A native of Greenup county, Kentucky, Mr. Brown was born on the 8th 
orf March, 1842, a son of Piersol and Margaret (Thomas) Brown. The fam- 
ily is of Scotch lineage, and from good old Revolutionary stock our subject is 
descended. His paternal grandfather, Robert Brown, was a soldier in the 
war for independence and married a daughter of John Throckmorton, who 
was also a Revolutionary soldier. His great-great- grandfather, John Brown, 
the founder of the family in America, was a native of Scotland, a weaver by 
trade, and settled near what is now Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, about 
the year 1 700. 

Marion Brown was about ten years of age when his mother died and he 
went to live with his uncle, Benjamin Thomas, near Lucasville, Scioto county, 
Ohio, where he attended the district schools of that day during the winter 
months and worked upon the farm the remainder of the time until he was six- 
teen vears of age, when he became a resident of Illinois, where his father died 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 259 

in 1880. There he worked as a farm hand and later engaged in farming on 
his own account. 

As a further preparation for a home of his own he was married, in 1866, 
to Miss Margaret J. Bandy, a daughter of Richard Bandy, and upon a farm in 
Edgar county they began their domestic life, there remaining until 1888, when 
they became residents of Jasper county, locating upon a farm five miles west 
of Carthage. His place comprises one hundred and twenty acres of land and 
is well improved. There he successfully carried on general farming until 
1898, when he was elected probate judge of Jasper county, and entered upon 
the duties of the office the 1st of January, 1899, for a term of four years, at the 
election defeating Judge D. D. Kerr, the Republican candidate. While re- 
siding in Edgar county, Illinois, he had served for two years as a member of 
the board of supervisors, and in office has ever manifested marked fidelity to 
duty. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Brown have been born seven children : George W., 
a resident of Paris, Illinois; Charles F., who is living in Meeker, Colorado; 
Charity A., a probate clerk in her father's office; Sally M., the wife of James 
A. Buchanan, of Saratoga, Wyoming; William S. and Walter Piersol, twins; 
and Jackson S. The family have a wide acquaintance in Jasper county and en- 
joy the high regard of many friends. A busy, active and honorable career 
has won for Mr. Brown a fair degree of success and also gained for him the 
respect of those with whom he has been associated. 

v JESSE THOMPSON BRUTON, M. D. 

Perhaps there is no more highly esteemed citizen of Carl Junction, Jasper 
county, than Dr. Jesse Thompson Bruton, who is the efficient health officer 
of this village and one of the most skillful physicians in this section of the 
state. Dr. Bruton was born in McNairy county, Tennessee, July 24, 1832, 
and was a son of David and Nancy (L^n^dfnrd) Bruton, both members of 
old and honorable southern families. 

The father of Dr. Bruton was born near Greenville, South Carolina, and 
was a son of Enoch Bruton. After his marriage David Bruton and wife went 
to Alabama and there engaged in farming, later moving to Georgia and then 
to McNairy county, Tennessee, where he remained for some time engaged in 
farming. He was a very intelligent man and of a somewhat roving disposi- 
tion. Later he removed to Mississippi, and went from there in 1841 to Greene 
county, Missouri, locating near Springfield, where he improved a farm, but 



260 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

in 1850 he went to a farm located near Van Buren, Arkansas, returning in 
1851 to Springfield, where he remained until his death, when about eighty- 
one years old. His political opinions made him a Republican, and he was a 
leading member of the Baptist church. For many years he served as justice 
of the peace, and in whatever locality he settled- he soon became known and 
respected. Prior to her marriage the mother of our subject was Nancy Langd- 
iord. She was born and reared in South Carolina and was a daughter of 
Wiley Langdford, who was of Welsh descent and was a prominent man in 
his locality. Eleven children were born to the parents of our subject, seven 
sons and four daughters, and four of this family still survive : Darius B. ; 
Elizabeth; Clarinda; and our subject, who was the tenth child and the sixth 
son. 

The boyhood days of Dr. Bruton were spent on the farm and his edu- 
cation was received in the subscription schools, in the little log houses then 
thought to be appropriate temples of learning. He was but nine years old 
when he came to Missouri, and he remained with his father until he was 
twenty-one, assisting on the farm, although his inclinations had ever been in 
the direction of the medical profession. At that time no opening leading 
toward his cherished plan had appeared of which he had been able to take ad- 
vantage. 

Dr. Bruton was first married, in 1854, to Frances Damron, who was a 
native of North Carolina, her death occurring April 4, 1878. She was the 
mother of ten children, as follows : Candis R., James E., Martha C, Jesse N., 
Lr^y A., Viola and Otto W., and three deceased — John J., Tyrrell F. and 
Josie. The second marriage of Dr. Bruton was to Luca A. Fike, the widow 
of Grisom Adams, and three children have been born of this union : Ethel 
E., Helen E. and Freddie, the last named also deceased. 

Following his marriage Dr. Bruton located in Webster county, Missouri, 
and engaged in farming, continuing there until 1861, when he settled in 
Marshfield and entered upon the study of medicine with Dr. S. S. Stacy, re- 
maining with him until the close of the war, during the last year of which 
time he gained great experience in hospital work in Mansfield. The following 
year he moved to Dallas county, Missouri, and located near Buffalo, where he 
practiced his profession until 1866. In 1873 he came to Jasper county, Mis- 
souri, and settled at Smithfield, two miles west of Carl Junction, there prac- 
ticing with success until 1879, when he went to Joplin. In 1882 he came to 
his present location in Carl Junction. In 1900 he erected his office building 
in this place and built up a large and paying practice. For many years he has 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 261 

been a leading member of the Baptist church and is one of its ordained min- 
isters. His connection with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows has com 
tinued for a long period, and he has always been a stanch Republican. Dr. 
Bruton owns considerable property in this locality and is most highly esteemed 
by all. 

/ 

v/R. a. mooneyham. 

R. A. Mooneyham. the subject of this sketch, was born at Benton. Frank- 
lin county, Illinois, on the 5th day of September, 1869. His father is T. M. 
Mooneyham, who served his district in the Illinois legislature, was for four 
years circuit clerk and prosecuting attorney for four years and held a number 
of other offices, such as school director, president of the village board, chair- 
man of the board of supervisors, and others. T. M. Mooneyham was a son 
of Major Daniel Mooneyham, who served with distinction in the [Mexican 
war and also in the Civil war from 1861 to 1865. 

R. A. Mooneyham grew up on a farm until he was sixteen years old, 
when he left the parental home to seek his fortune among strangers. He 
spent one year in southwestern Texas, and many and valuable were the lessons 
he learned during this time. From Texas he went to Colorado and spent 
three years working on cattle and horse ranches and in the gold mines of that 
state, during which time his spare moments were occupied in reading miscel- 
laneous literature and such law books as he could obtain. In December. 1891. 
R. A. Mooneyham returned to his home at Benton, Illinois, to spend Christ- 
mas with his parents and friends, and was persuaded by his father and mother 
to remain at home and take up the study of law systematically, which he did, 
commencing about the 1st of February. 1892, reading law in his father's office. 
He continued his studies until September, 1892, when he entered the law school 
at Bloomington, Illinois, where he was graduated in June of the following 
year. After graduation Air. Mooneyham returned to his home near Benton, 
and entered the office with his father, and remained with him until October, 
when he located at Belleville, Illinois, and opened an office for the practice of 
his chosen profession. In the course of two years Air. Mooneyham, by hard 
work and close attention to business, had built up a large and lucrative law 
practice. In September, 1896, he was elected dean of the law department of 
McKendree College, which position he filled for two years to the entire satis- 
faction of the board of trustees and with much credit to himself. He was re- 
elected to the position, but declined to serve further, for the reason that he 



262 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

desired to devote his entire time to his practice. In April, 1894, Mr. Mooney* 
ham was elected to the board of supervisors of St. Clair county, to represent 
the city of Belleville. He was re-elected in 1896 and served four years as a 
member of that body, during which time many reforms were introduced by him 
in the management of the county's affairs, saving- to the county many thou- 
sands of dollars annually, which had theretofore been wasted. 

On the 15th day of May, .1895, Mr. Mooneyham was united in marriage 
to Miss Bettie Stookey, a very accomplished and amiable young lady. To this 
union have been born three children : Monroe Stookey Mooneyham, who died 
in infancy; Roberta Mooneyham, who died at the age of two years and one 
month; and Daniel, who is living and is now more than two years oid. 

In October, 1899, R. A. Mooneyham removed with his wife and baby 
to the city of Carthage, Jasper county, Missouri, where he still resides. In 
November, 1900, he was elected prosecuting attorney of Jasper county by a 
substantial majority, receiving more votes than any of his running mates 
except two. He is a man of much energy and force of character, quick to see 
the right and firm in his convictions, a man of sound judgment on questions 
of law or business, and during the time he has been engaged in the practice 
of law has enjoyed the distinction of appearing as leading counsel in a number 
of large and important law suits ; notably the case of John Penn, trustee, 
versus William Fogier, et al., in which there was involved more than one 
hundred thousand dollars, being a chancery case. The circuit court fixed the 
fee of Mr. Mooneyham at five thousand dollars, which was promptly paid to 
him. In the case of Wilderman versus Wilderman, another chancery case, 
the court fixed Mr. Mooneyham's fee at one thousand, eight hundred dollars, 
which was paid to him shortly thereafter. Mr. Mooneyham is modest in his 
pretensions, makes no claim to distinction, but believes "where there is a will 
there is a way." 

JAMES ROACH. 

Mr. Roach was born near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1859 his parents 
moved to Kansas, locating at St. Paul. He was educated in the common 
schools, and at the age of nineteen years he embarked upon a career of busi- 
ness pursuits. He located in Joplin in 1876 and engaged in mining. Through 
energy and thrift he was successful from the start, and his ambition caused 
him to work his way steadily to the front. In recent years Mr. Roach has 
been placed in charge of some of the most important mining properties of 
the district, including the Grand Master, at Tuckahoe ; the Webster-Mott, 




JAMES ROACH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 265 

south of Carterville, and up to the present time in charge of the properties of 
the Kohinoor Company, west of Joplin. They include the Kohinoor and 
Jack Harvard mills, the Sheldon and other properties that yield from fifty to 
one hundred and sixty tons of ore per week. 

The subject of this sketch was married, in Jasper county, Missouri, to 
Miss Isabell Usher, a niece of J. J. and T. J. Cofer. Their union was blessed 
with four children, Maude, Arthur, Eliza and Nellie. The family is one of 
the best known of Joplin citizens. James Roach served a term as a member 
O'f the city council from the year 1886 to 1892. He is a member of the Masonic 
lodge, and is classed as one of Joplin' s most influential and progressive citizens. 



H. A. AYRE. 

H. A. Ay re, the efficient, popular and experienced postmaster of Oronogo, 
Missouri, is also one of the substantial citizens of Jasper county. His birth 
occurred in Devonshire, England, December 8, 1855, and he was seventeen 
years old when he reached America. At the age of fourteen years he had 
become so proficient in the mining business in his own land that he was made 
a timekeeper, and when he was old enough he decided to follow the same busi- 
ness in California. In 1876 he reached Oronogo on his way westward, and has 
remained in Jasper county ever since. For six months he was employed by 
Judge Elliott, and at the close of this period he began to prospect for himself. 
He had knowledge of mines and mining that many of his companions did not 
possess, and his prospecting proved successful. For a period he followed 
mining and also engaged in the insurance business, and in 1880 he bought his 
present fine farm, consisting of two hundred and four acres of land, all of 
which he has under cultivation with the exception of thirty acres. 

Mr. Ayre has been prominent in Republican political affairs, and in March, 
1898, he was appointed postmaster of this place, and has most efficiently filled 
the position ever since. He is a leading member of the Masonic order in this 
vicinity, and is one of the reliable and progressive business men. 

The marriage of Mr. Ayre was in 1883, to Mrs. Maria Buckingham, who 
was the widow of Benjamin Buckingham. She had three children, — Alice, 
Bertha and Fred, and to the second marriage two children were born, — Albert 
and Nellie. Mrs. Ayre died in March, 1888. Mr. Ayre has displayed energy 
and ability in marked degree since locating in America, and has taken a deep 
interest in everything which has promised to benefit Jasper county. 



266 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

W. C. McGOWAN. 

The lumber and hardware interests of Reeds, Missouri, are in the hands 
of the enterprising firm of Tarrant & McGowan, of which our subject, W. C. 
McGowan, is the junior member. He was born in Sullivan county, Indiana, 
m 1853, an d was a son °f William and Elizabeth (Shannon) McGowan, the 
former of whom was also a native of Indiana, and was a son of John Mc- 
Gowan, who was one of the early settlers there, removing from Virginia. 
Grandfather McGowan was a gunsmith by trade and became well known in 
his locality. He met his death on the White river, being killed by one whom 
the family supposed was a friendly Indian. The mother of our subject was 
Elizabeth, a daughter of Absalom and Nancy (Miller) Shannon, both of whom 
died in Indiana, where the parents of our subject passed away. Of their ten 
children eight reached maturity, and our subject was the youngest of the fam- 
ily. Three of his brothers, Absalom, John and Thomas, were in the Union 
army during the Civil war, and Absalom lost his life at the battle of Baton 
Rouge, Louisiana. 

W. C. McGowan received his education in Indiana, and while still a young 
man, in 1871, came to Jasper county, Missouri, where he engaged in farming, 
and is now the owner of a fine farm of four hundred and forty acres located 
in Union and Sarcoxie townships. This is very valuable property and is 
well improved. Some six years ago our subject came to Reeds and became 
a partner in the lumber and hardware business with Mr. J. D. Davis, but two 
years later he bought his partner's interest, which he sold to Mr. Robert M. 
Tarrant, and since that time the firm has done a prosperous business under 
the firm name of Tarrant & McGowan and has become well known through 
the county for its honorable methods. 

Mr. McGowan has taken an active part in public affairs since locating 
here and is a leading member of the Union Labor party. He has witnessed 
many changes in both business and social life in Jasper county and has done 
his part to aid in its progress and development. 

GEORGE L. JARRETT. 

Prominent among the eminently successful men of Jasper county, Mis- 
souri, is George L. Jarrett, of Joplin township, who is now engaged in open- 
ing up the Sassafras and the Big Spring mines, the former on the American 
Midway lease and also a lease of five adjoining acres. Mr. Jarrett also owns. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 267 

a one-fourth interest in the forty acres called Big Springs, where he is opening 
the Big Spring mines, the deposit being zinc and lead. 

Mr. Jarrett comes of an old North Carolina family which resided and 
was prominent in that state prior to and during the war of the Revolution. 
He was a son of George W. and Elizabeth (Zimmerman) Jarrett, the former 
of whom freed his slaves prior to the Civil war and during its progress took 
part on neither side. The mother's family came from Pennsylvania, but had 
long been residents of North Carolina. 

Mr. Jarrett, of this sketch, has followed mining nearly all his life. In 
earlier years he mined in the gold regions of his native state, North Carolina, 
but came to this part of Jasper county in 1899, from Des Moines, Iowa. He 
is an expert mechanical engineer and has been engaged in the manufacture of 
mining machinery for many years and has placed many outfits in coal mines, 
and formerly employed one hundred and sixty men in his shops in the manu- 
facture of the machinery for gristmills and mines. Mr. Jarrett is considered 
a great acquisition to this section, as he has the means and the energy and abil- 
ity to develop it. His health prevented his continuance as engineer, but he 
believes that the miner's hardy life is restoring it. 

The marriage of Mr. Jarrett was to Miss Elizabeth A. Wright, who was 
a native Of New Jersey, and to this marriage two sons have been born, — [ohn 
and William, both of them engaged in mining operations with their father. 

F. H. WARREN. 

i 
Among the reliable and efficient mine superintendents of Jasper count)-, 
Missouri, is F. H. Warren, the superintendent of the Ajax lease, which con- 
sists of thirty acres on Dixon land, at Tuckahoe, north of Joplin. 

The Warren family is an old and well known one of Virginia, one 
branch of which went to' Kentucky, and there E. A. Warren, the father 
of our subject, was born, in Pulaski county. He left his native state and 
located in Vernon county, Missouri, and in 1873 removed to Jasper county, 
and still survives, residing near Ajax, at the age of seventy years. For some 
time he engaged in mining. The mother of our subject was formerly Miss 
Susan Adams, and she was born in Kentucky, of Virginia ancestry. She has 
passed awav. 

F. H. Warren, our subject, was but a small boy when he accompanied 
his parents from Vernon county, Missouri, to Jasper county in 1873, and as 
early as the age of eleven years began to engage in mining and ever since 



268 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

has been either prospecting or operating mines. He is considered an expert, 
and his brothers are also engaged in the same business. Our subject opened 
up the Big Four, one of the best mines in this district, and he and three 
brothers, G. T., B. F., and W. H., were interested in it, the last named brother 
being the ex-sheriff of the county. The Manhattan is also a very good mine 
in this neighborhood, and six of the Warrens were interested in that, as 
they also were in the H. U. E., of Leadville Hollow, which was a great 
producer. The Warrens have sold the last two mines. 

Mr. Warren, of this sketch, has given almost his entire attention to 
his mining interests, although he attended school in Joplin during his earlier 
years. The mines under the superintendence of our subject are the New 
Century, the Mayflower, Five Spot, the Tuckahoe Lead, Zinc Mining Com- 
pany's and the Suffolk- Joplin. The great knowledge and good judgment 
necessary to manage and successfully superintend great mines and their work 
can only be thoroughly understood by those in the business. That Mr. 
Warren possesses the necessary qualifications for an efficient superintendent 
is proved by the number and importance of the properties placed in his care. 

Mr. Warren was married to Miss Maude Belmont, a native of Minne- 
apolis, Minnesota, who accompanied her father to this county. 

ALBERT C. CHAILLE. 

Albert C. Chaille is well known throughout his locality as a shrewd and 
public-spirited finance r and mine operator. He is a native of Indiana, born in 
Ripley county, but since 1886 he has been a resident of the west. He is 
now serving as superintendent of the Thanksgiving Lead & Zinc Company, 
of St. Louis, which has control of twenty acres of the John Jackson lands, on 
which they are operating three shafts. This is a very rich and paying 
piece of property, and during the past year it netted about eight thousand 
dollars. Mr. Chaille is also interested in several other valuable mining prop- 
erties, including the Yellow Jacket, the Lulu and Grubsteak. His brother, J. 
P. Chaille, is also interested in the Yellow Jacket. Mr. Chaille devotes his 
time and energies almost exclusively to his mining operations, and his ability 
in that direction has gained him a gratifying degree of success. 

He was united in marriage with Mrs. Mattie Connely, of Jasper county, 
and a daughter of W. N. Blanton, a prominent citizen and an extensive mine 
operator of Carterville. He came to this county in 1871 and is now living 
retired from the active duties of business life, his industry in former years 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 269 

now enabling him to enjoy the rest which he has truly earned and richly de- 
serves. In his social relations our subject is a member of the Ancient Order 
of United Workmen. 



/ 



WILLIAM B. McANTIRE. 



Among the leading attorneys of Joplin, Missouri, who since 1873 has 
been prominently identified with the interests of this section, is William B. 
McAntire, who was born in Elizabethtown, Hardin county, Kentucky, and 
was a son of William Sanford McAntire, who was also a native of Ken- 
tucky. The latter came of excellent ancestry, a commingling of Scotch and 
Irish, and on the paternal side was connected with the family of the dis- 
tinguished Confederate general, Stonewall Jackson. In 1847 the father came 
to Missouri, locating on a farm in Scotland county. The mother of our 
subject was formerly Elizabeth C. Van Meter, a native of Hardin county, 
Kentucky. 

William B. McAntire received a superior education, attending first the 
public schools in Scotland county, later the Memphis Academy, in the same 
county, and La Grange College, in Lewis county, and then entered upon 
the study of law with R. D. Cramer and Judge Samuel R. Peters, an ex- 
member of congress, at Memphis. At that place our subject was admitted to 
the bar and ever since that time has enjoyed a large and remunerative prac- 
tice. He comes of an intelligent ancestry and well represents it. His location 
in Joplin dates from 1873, anc ^ ^' xs ability was almost immediately recognized. 
For three years he was a member of the school board, and for eight years 
served as police judge, with dignity and discretion, his first election being 
in 1875, serving continuously until 1881, his re-election in 1888 being for a 
fourth term of two years. 

The marriage of Mr. McAntire occurred in Joplin, to Miss Charlotte 
Martin, a daughter of Ankrim Martin, deceased, who was long one of the 
successful miners of this locality and a pioneer hotel-keeper. Mr. Martin 
was a native of Scotland and after leaving that country located in Canada, 
came then to Wisconsin, and later to Joplin, Missouri. The children born to 
Mr. and Mrs. McAntire were: William Edwin, who is the assistant cashier 
of the Bank of Joplin, and Arthur B., who is a bookkeeper in this city, both 
of whom were educated in die excellent schools of this locality. 

Mr. McAntire is socially connected with the A. O. U. W., in which he 
takes an active interest. His public services have been appreciated by the 



2/o BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

community, which has clone him the honor of election to successive terms, and 
he is known as one of the best equipped lawyers in the county, and is a rep- 
resentative man in the legal profession. 

PATRICK H. LEDDY, 

In the history of the development and progress of Jasper county during 
the past decade or more Patrick H. Leddy deserves favorable mention, for 
he has done much for the improvement and upbuilding of Joplin, where he 
makes his home, and was the founder of Central City, a flourishing town 
three miles west of Joplin. The wise system of industrial economics which 
has been brought to bear in the development of that city has challenged 
uniform admiration, for while there has been steady advancement in material 
lines, there has been an entire absence of that inflation of values and that 
erratic "booming," which have in the past proved the eventual death knell to 
many of. the localities in the west, where "mushroom towns" have one day 
smiled forth with "all modern improvements," and practically on the next 
have been shorn of their glories and of their possibilities of stable prosperity, 
until the existing order of things shall have been radically changed. In 
Central City progress has been made continuously and along safe lines, and 
in the healthful growth and advancement of the place and also that of Joplin 
Mr. Leddy has taken an active part. 

He is a native of Pennsylvania, but spent the greater part of his youth in 
Illinois. In 1879 he went to Leadville, Colorado, and since that time has been 
continuously engaged in mining. In Colorado he gained practical experi- 
ence concerning the best methods of developing the rich mineral resources of 
the country, and in 1888 he came to Joplin to enter upon the same line of 
work. He has since founded and developed Central City, which is sit- 
uated about three and a half miles west of Joplin, and has a population of 
nearlv two thousand people. He is owner of the seventy acres of land on 
which it stands and on this tract are a number of splendid paying mines, 
which he has leased, and from which he receives a royalty. 

Mr. Leddy is a man of resourceful business ability and his efforts have 
been by no means confined to one line. He is capable of planning and ex- 
ecuting many different enterprises, and is now interested in a large tract of 
land in the newly discovered oil fields at Beaumont. Texas. He owns the 
Golden Slipper mine and also owns considerable land in the gas belt of 
Kansas and has a plan to pipe gas to Joplin. .He was also very active in 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 271 

preparing the Joplin exhibit of minerals for display at the Pan-American Ex- 
position in Buffalo. He is deeply interested in everything pertaining to the 
welfare of the city and contributes generausly of his means, as well as of 
his time and energies, to the promotion of every movement and measure which 
he believes will prove of general good. 

In 1 89 1 Mr. Leddy was united in marriage to Miss Adiline Thomas, 
and unto them have been born two children. He is a member of the Be- 
nevolent Protective Order of Elks and organized the lodge at Joplin in 1899, 
since which time it has become the strongest fraternity in this place. He 
has been honored with offices in the order and he enjoys the highest regard 
of his brethren. Mr. Leddy is a man of resolute purpose and unflagging en- 
ergy, and through his own well-directed efforts he has achieved success in 
life, working his way steadily upward until he now stands among the men of 
affluence in southwestern Missouri. 

^BENJAMIN FRANKLIN HATCHER. 

Among the prominent and representative farmers of Jasper county is 
Benjamin Franklin Hatcher, who was born in Overton county, middle Ten- 
nessee, on April 7, 1847, an d he was the son of Jabez and Pauline J. (Webb) 
Hatcher, the former of whom was born in Tennessee and reared and edu- 
cated there. He became a teacher and also engaged in farming, coming to 
Jasper county, Missouri, in 1857. He located on a property,, which is still 
known as the old Hatcher farm, near Webb City, and was one of the old 
settlers of the county, where he became prominent. At one time he was as- 
sociate judge of the county and was well and widely known. His death 
occurred during the war, in 1864. The mother of our subject was a sister of 
John C. Webb, the founder of Webb City, and she is still living, at the age of 
seventy-six years. 

The family of which Benjamin Franklin Hatcher was a member consisted 
of nine children, in which he was the third. When ten years of age he came 
to Jasper county with his parents, in 1857, and he was reared on the old 
Hatcher homestead and attended the district schools of Joplin township. 
He remained with his mother, after the death of his father, until his mar- 
riage, in 1870, when he purchased a part of the old farm, which is now a 
mining camp, and which he still owns. First he resided in Webb City and 
engaged in mining, but about 1888 he bought the farm of one hundred and 
forty acres upon which he now resides. At that time the place was not 
attractive as it is now, as there were no improvements, but in 1891 Mr. 



272 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

Hatcher was able to move upon the part which is occupied by his residence. 
This is beautifully located on a hill and every part of the one hundred and 
forty acres is in view. Mr. Hatcher has here a model farm, a delightful 
country residence, with barns and outbuildings of modern style, and con- 
ducts his operations in farming and cattle raising .with success. Mr. Hatcher 
also owns other property, one farm of one hundred and sixty-five acres in 
Newton county, which is well improved and which he rents, and one of one 
hundred and sixty-five acres in McDonald county, Missouri, on Indian creek, 
which is also rented. He also owns thirty acres of the old home place, which 
is mining land, upon which there are five mining plants, and he gets a royalty. 

The marriage of Mr. Hatcher was in 1870, to Dora Daugherty, who 
was born in east Tennessee and was a daughter of W. A. and Nancy (Riggs) 
Daugherty, who came to Jasper county from Tennessee, in 1866. Seven 
sous and four daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hatcher, and these are: 
William, who married Effie Hurley, a daughter of Foss Hurley ; Frank, who 
married Myrtle Ball, a daughter of James Ball, of Webb City, now de- 
ceased; Walter Janes, at home; Pearl, a student at Webb City College; Ben- 
jamin; Daugherty; Grover C. ; Eulalia ; Ruth; Era P.; and Ada B., who died 
at the age of twelve months. All were born on the old homestead in Jasper 
county. 

Mr. Hatcher was but sixteen years old at the outbreak of the war of 
1 86 1, and served for one year in the Confederate army, in Company A, 
Shelby's regiment. He has been a life-long Democrat and prominent in the 
councils of his party through this section. Socially he is connected with 
the Masonic order and the I. O. O. F. at Centerville and is a hading member 
of the Methodist church in Webb City, where he is highly valued for his 
liberality and his Christian character. 

HIRAM U. DALE. 

Conspicuous among the prominent citizens of Jasper county, Missouri, 
who may justly lay claim to the title of self-made men, is the subject of this 
brief notice, who was fully orphaned at the age of twelve and has ever since 
been fighting the battle of life with signal success. 

Hiram U. Dale, mine operator and superintendent and part owner of 
the Fairview mine on the Cuba lease, was born in Illinois, and at the age of 
three years was taken to Crawford county, Kansas. Jacob Dale, his father, 
who was a native of the state of Pennsylvania, was an early settler in Liv- 
ingston county, Illinois, and died in Kansas, aged fifty-six, when his son 




HIRAM U. DALE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 275 

was quite young; and his wife, the boy's mother, survived him only until the 
immediate subject of this sketch was twelve years old. 

Young Dale began active life as a coal-miner and merchant in Kansas. 
He came to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1885, commenced mining in Duenweg 
and struck the Nemsby mines, but latterly has confined his attention in this 
direction to the hardware firm of Dale & Bennett, of Duenweg and Neck 
City and Chitwood, Missouri. He has from time to time devoted himself 
to mining and has had to do with several good properties in that line. Notable 
among such is the Newsboy mine, one of the best producers in the district, of 
which he is the sole owner, and which he intends to put in operation again 
at some future time. 

Mr. Dale married Miss Martha Bennett, of Osage, Kansas, and they 
have four children, named William Franklin, Mabel Jane, Elma Howard and 
Ruth J. Mr. Dale is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 

OZRO A. ADAMS. 

The list of the leading citizens of Joplin contains the name of O. A. 
Adams, one of the representative and honored citizens of Jasper county. His 
record as a soldier, as a citizen and as a business man has been strictly hon- 
orable and has gained him the confidence and good will of all with whom 
lie has been brought in contact. Mr. Adams claims Illinois as tjie state of his 
nativity, his birth having occurred in Dupage county, where his father, who 
was a native of Dutchess county, New York, was one of the early pioneer 
settlers. The mother of our subject, who was in her maidenhood Miss Esther 
Newberry, was also a native of the Empire state. 

O. A. Adams, whose name forms the caption of this review, has been a 
resident of the state of Missouri for the past twenty-eight years, the year of 
his arrival being 1S73. During all this long' period he has folowed the voh 
cation of a miner, his efforts being attended with a high degree of success, 
and he has opened up and developed some of the best mining properties 
in this portion of the state. During the past thirteen years he has devoted 
It's entire time to prospecting. He now owns a good home, which was 
erected eleven vears ago, and is surrounded with beautiful shade and orna- 
mental trees. When he located in Joplin there was not a house near his resi- 
dence, and he has watched with interest the growth and development of this 
locality, performing his share of the work which has produced this wonderful 
change. He began his mining career in Joplin, Missouri, in a smelting 

15 



276 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

furnace there, and he is now recognized as one of the leading and success- 
ful representatives of that calling in southwestern Missouri. 

When the trouble arose between the north and the south Mr. Adams 
put aside all personal considerations and responded to the call of his country, 
enlisting in the One Hundred and Fifty-third Illinois Infantry, in 1864, at 
Huntley Grove, Illinois. He was attached to the Army of the Tennessee, 
and with his command took part in the battles of Murfreesboro, Nashville 
and many other engagements. He was only sixteen years of age when he 
entered the service, but his loyalty and bravery were equal to one twice his 
years. In 1875, in Jasper county, Missouri, he was united in marriage with 
Miss Maggie Logan, a native of Washington county, Illinois, and a daugh- 
ter of Reuben Logan, who was born in Kentucky. His father was a native 
of the Old Dominion. Mr. and Mrs. Adams have one son, Harry N., and a 
daughter, Irla lone. Mr. Adams is an intelligent, enterprising, progressive 
man, and his well-directed efforts have brought to him a success that num- 
bers him among the substantial citizens of his adopted state. 



4 



ABRAHAM W. ONSTOTT. 



The name of Onstott is so well known in Jasper county and this por- 
tion of Missouri that any of its representatives would not need an intro- 
duction to the readers of this volume. He of whom we write is a respected 
resident of Joplin, and throughout his entire life has been identified with 
affairs in this locality. He has a comprehensive knowledge of the events 
which go to form its annals, and has ever borne his part along the lines of 
improvement, progress and upbuilding. 

Mr. Onstott was born in Jasper county, about five miles south of Carthage, 
in Jackson township, on the homestead which his father had secured from 
the government, and upon which he resided until 1892, when he sold the 
property and removed to Carthage, where he has since made his home. He 
is now eighty-five years of age, one of the venerable and esteemed citizens of 
his community. He was born in Indiana, and came to Missouri in 1833, 
when seventeen years of age. He is the oldest living settler of the county. 
The Indians were encamped around about him, but they were peaceful and 
he had no trouble. His father, Abraham Onstott, also came to Missouri at 
the time, but in 1859 he removed to Bowan, Texas, where his remaining days 
were passed, his death occurring in 1861. From 1856 until 1858 the father, 
John Onstott, served as a member of the county court, and thus won the title 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 



277 



of judge by which he is always known. He has also been county treasurer 
and has filled other offices. During- the Civil war he was a Democrat but a 
strong advocate of the cause of the Union. In 1864 his family had to 
leave this locality and go to Cooper county, having to leave their farm on 
account of the guerrilla war, which forced all settlers to seek safety elsewhere 
Perhaps this period of his life may be best set forth in his own words, which 
we take from a newspaper published in the county. Judge Onstott said'- "This 
was a very warm section of the country during the years when those dis- 
cussions were going on which led up to the war, but people managed to 
live together pretty much in peace until the battle of Carthage occurred the 
day after the Fourth of July, in 1861. Then blood was spilled on both sides 
and it seemed to rankle in the breasts of all until the war was ended, creating 
the most bitter feeling. It became a common matter for people to be killed" 
so much so that we thought little of it. Often have I lain down at night 
having reason to think that I might be a dead man before morning and yet 
I would sleep soundly, so hardened were we to the situation. I remember 
well the day the battle of Carthage was fought. I was in my field cradling 
wheat, six miles southwest of Carthage, and I heard the shooting and can- 
nonading all day long. 

"Colonel Franz Sigel was camped the day before with two regiments of 
Federal soldiers, starting in to have a big celebration on the Fourth of July 
General Price had passed through Carthage ten days before with fifteen 
hundred Confederate cavalrymen on his way to Arkansas. Sigel, during 
the day, heard that Governor Jackson was north of Carthage, fleeing from 
the state with ten thousand men with him. Most of these were unarmed, 
however, and Sigel determined to meet him with his smaller, but well armed 
force, and he quit his celebration and started. I saw his columns approach 
and march through town the morning of July 5th. He had only about five 
hundred or six hundred men with him, and as Rain's armed men in Jackson's 
army were about the same number, and as each side had eighteen pieces of 
artillery, the fighting part of the forces were about evenly matched. Sigel 
crossed the river where the lower bridge now is, and met Jackson five or six 
miles north of town. As Jackson's vast forces would try to surround him. 
Sigel would cut his way out behind with artillery and retreat a little way! 
In the afternoon he had his artillery planted for a while on the hill north 
of the lower bridge. Then about sundown he had it planted for a while in the 
hollow on East Sixth street. Then he retreated, and the last volley of 



2/8 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

musketry I heard was just at dusk, out of the edge of the timber, near where- 
Knights station now is. 

"Carthage was then a town of four hundred or five hundred people and 
was a prosperous little place. The town was not much hurt by the fight, 
only a few house being touched by the cannon balls. But before the war was 
ended the town suffered greatly, first one side and then the other occupying it. 
What one party did not burn or tear down the other would, the friends of 
a given side sometimes suffering worse from their own side on account of 
mistaken rumors. There was often much confusion as to where people stood 
on the questions of the day. At the close of the war the guerrilla method had 
annihilated the town, which a bitterly fought battle at the beginning had only 
slightly scarred. Only two or three houses were left standing, even the court 
house being in ruins. 

"Shortly after the battle of Carthage the rebel influences were left largely 
in control here. The county treasurer, Archibald McCoy, a Union man, 
said he had heard threats that the county funds would be robbed by the 
marauding forces, and he wanted us, his bondsmen, to hide the county money 
for him. The bondsmen, besides myself, were John Halsell, Jim Langley, 
John B. Dale and one other whose name I do not remember. We held 
a meeting with great secrecy and agreed that John J. Scott, a man in whom 
we had great confidence, should hold the money in secret. I think he was 
not the other bondsman. Scott took the money and gave Treasurer McCoy 
a receipt for it. McCoy was to go to Scott when he wanted money and take 
what he needed, leaving a warrant in the place of what he took away. This 
arrangement began in August, 1861. By October two hundred dollars had 
been taken out by McCoy, leaving a cash balance on hand of about thirteen 
hundred dollars, of which about eleven hundred was in gold and two hundred 
dollars was in Missouri paper money. About this time Scott decided he had 
to leave on account of his politics, and he turned all the money over to me 
without ever taking a receipt for it and got out of the country. McCoy was 
soon after taken prisoner by the Confederates, by Anderson and his men, I 
think, and was taken away and was never heard from afterwards. It is sup- 
posed, of course, that he was killed by his captors. 

"The money was a white elephant on our hands. We were terribly 
afraid some one would find out we had it. I buried it all at first, but I con- 
cluded the paper money would rot that way, so I took the paper money out and 
gave it to my wife to keep, and left the gold in the ground. It was buried 
by a little cherry tree near the house. I told none of my family but my son 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 279 

Abe where it was. He was then about twelve years old. My wife carried 
the paper money in her pocket all the time. In 1863, about October, some 
of the Cherokee Indians came up from the territory, led by Cal Richie, a 
Federal, and raided the country. They robbed our folks of everything they 
had. My wife was sick in bed. They rolled her off her couch and took from 
her pocket all the two hundred dollars of paper money belonging to the 
county. The only things saved were a few quilts which the girls hid in a 
corn shock. The Indians even emptied the feather beds in the yard and took 
the ticks away to make tents of. 

"I was in Fort Scott a prisoner at the time. Some federals, Claud's 
men, I think, had taken a half dozen of us there because some Confederates, 
Tom Livingston, I believe, had taken as many supposed Unionists from 
Carthage prisoners shortly before. The Federals took us to* utilize us in mak- 
ing an exchange — that was the scheme. To show how badly mixed everything 
was, I will state that several of us whom the Federals took were Unionists and 
several whom the Rebels had taken were known locally as strong southern 
sympathizers. From Fort Scott we were taken to Bentonville, Arkansas, and 
there were paroled, and were to get home the best way we could. I had been 
gone two months when I got back to help furnish the home which the In- 
dians had spoiled ii? my absence. 

"Again, whik ± was away in 1864, helping move the Halsell family to 
Cooper county, some companies of the Missouri State Militia came through 
this way and burned my home over the heads of my family. The women 
concluded that it was time for them to leave. They felt that they had to 
take the county gold with them, so with the aid of my son Abe to locate it they 
dug up the gold and prepared for the trip. They had to dig a long while to 
find the gold, even after Abe had located the tree for them, which shows 
that the treasure was well hidden. 

"My daughters, Sarah and Jane, and their mother then sewed the money 
inside their belts and each put one on. They went to Pettis county, where I 
joined them soon afterward. Then I put in and harvested a good crop that 
season. In 1865 I returned to my farm here, the women wearing the money 
back in belts the same way they had carried it away. 

"I then made it known to the county court, with much relief, that I had 
the county funds intact, and that I would like to turn it over to them. I 
wanted them to allow me for the premium on the gold, as this would make 
good the two hundred dollars of paper money the Indians had stolen from 
me. But they would not do it. I then went to the treasurer to count it out. 



28o BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

They sent word to me that they had a notion to charge me interest on it. 
I said all right, we'll see about this; and I began picking up the gold which 
I had laid down, and I added : T don't think you would have gotten any of it 
if I hadn't come to tell you about it.' When they saw that I might take the 
gold away with me, they quickly dropped the interest demanded, but they 
forced me to make good the two hundred dollars "of paper money, which the 
Indians had stolen. I nad to sell the last wagon and team I had to pay the 
two hundred dollars. 

"The payment of the two hundred dollars ended my connection with 
the county funds, the custody of which had been such a care for four years. 
In the midst of the troubles after the war, when so many indictments were 
gotton out charging people with crookedness and even murder, which, it was 
alleged, had occurred during the war period — many of them trumped up 
charges — no one ever accused me of dishonesty in handling and preserving the 
county money." 

After the war the Onstott family returned to the old homestead, to find 
that all was in ruins, the house and fences had been burned, the stock driven 
away and desolation reigned. They had to start life again without any- 
thing. But the father, mother and children made a brave effort. Mrs. 
Onstott bore the maiden name of Rachel Coldiron and was a native of Ken- 
tucky, coming to Missouri with her father, who was a pioneer. Her death 
occurred here in 1875. 

Abraham W. Onstott, whose name introduces this review, was a resi- 
dent of Jasper county and acquired his education here in the public schools. 
From personal experience he is well acquainted with the condition of affairs 
in the county during the Civil war. When twelve years of age he was a 
v, itness of all the troublous scenes which then occurred. He was called 
upon to aid in burying neighbors who had been shot. The day his father's 
house was burned he had to bury a man killed near by. He knew very well 
the James brothers and others who were with Quantrell as guerrillas. Two 
of the near neighbors were in the Lawrence massacre and returned to Jasper 
county with about twenty-two hundred dollars in gold and silver. Although 
the subject of this review was then but a boy, they told him where the gold 
could be found if they were killed. One was killed that very evening and 
the next dav two of the others were killed. After the war a brother of one of 
the men and Mr. Onstott, of this review, looked for it, but it was never 
found, and the money is still secreted somewhere. He was the only one who 
knew where his father had buried the county funds. In the family were two 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 281 

sons and four daughters, the brother being George, who was killed in the 
Leadville mines in 1888; Jane, the wife of F. J. Hazelwood, of Jackson 
township; Sarah, the wife of William Good, of Granby, Missouri; Elizabeth, 
the wife of R. R. Shirley, of West Fork, Arkansas; and Susan, who made 
her home with her father, Judge Onstott, in Carthage. 

For a number of years Abraham Onstott remained upon the home farm 
and was engaged in the stock business. He also took an interest in the mines 
and owned some good mining property. About a year ago he came to Joplin, 
where he erected a nice residence and has since lived. As a companion and 
helpmeet on the journey of life he chose Miss Martha Corwin, a native of 
Ohio and a representative of a pioneer family of that state, being a relative of 
FTon. "Tom" Corwin, United States senator. Her father, George Corwin, 
came to Carthage in 1871 and here spent his remaining days. He owned a 
very large farm south of Carthage and was a wealthy and influential citizen, 
prominent in business affairs. Onto Mr. and Mrs. Onstott has been born 
one child, a daughter, Jessie C. Mr. Onstott is indeed widely and favorably 
known, his personal characteristics being such as to win for him the high 
regard of many friends. 



v 



T. W r . HILL. 



Prominently identified with the mining interests of Jasper county, Mis- 
souri, is T. W. Hill, an old and experienced workman, who is one-half 
owner and superintendent of the Mount Ararat mine, located on property 
belonging to Thomas Conners. This mine promises to yield a fine class of 
ore, and seven shafts have been sunk, a one-hundred-ton mill put in opera- 
tion and the excavations have reached two hundred and forty-six feet, al- 
though only opened in November, 1899. 

Mr. Flill comes of a family of ministers of the Methodist church, his fa- 
ther being Rev. John Hill, his grandfather, Rev. Joshua Hill, and his great- 
grandfather, Rev. Green Hill, all natives of the locality near Nashville. Ten- 
nessee. Mr. Hill, of this review, was educated in Triune and attended the 
Springhill, Tennessee, Academy, where he became acquainted with the lady 
who later became his wife. She was Miss Ada V. Paschall, of Oxford, North 
Carolina, and was educated in Triune, Tennessee. A family of six children 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hill, and of these two daughters are married, 
and two daughters and one son are still at home. 

Mr. Flill has been engaged in mining throughout his business career, be- 



282 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

ginning the work as a boy, as early as 1876. His first experience was in 
Webb City, and he made the first strike in the Troup mine, and later struck 
the Goodenough mine, on the McKinley lease, which he worked for eight 
years. He is known to be reliable and trustworthy, and there is little con- 
cerning mines and mining that has escaped his observation. Politically he is 
a Democrat, and is socially connected with the Knights of Pythias. His ac- 
quaintance is large and his experiences have been wide and varied during these 
years of development since he first located in Jasper county. 

WILLIAM E. HALL. 

Faithfulness to duty and strict adherence to a fixed purpose in life will 
do more to advance a man's interests than wealth or advantageous circum- 
stances. The successful men of the day are they who< have planned their 
own advancement and have accomplished it in spite of many obstacles and 
with a certainty that could have been attained only through their own efforts. 
To-day William E. Hall stands as a representative of important agricultural 
and mining interests in southwestern Missouri, and his splendid business 
ability has won him continued prosperity until he is now accounted one of the 
wealthy residents of Carthage. 

Mr. Hall was born upon a farm in Jasper county, March 14, 1845, and 
represents one of the old families of North Carolina. His grandfather, Har- 
rison Hall, was a native of North Carolina, whence he removed to Illinois 
at an early day in its development and there spent the remainder of his life. 
His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rebecca East, was also a native of 
the old North state. Their son, Winston Hall, the father of our subject, 
was born in North Carolina in 1818 and in 1837 or 3^ came to Jasper county. 
He afterward married Jane Roberson, a native of Stokes county, North Caro- 
lina, whence she removed with her parents to this county in 1840. Here the 
young couple were married and then located upon a tract of unimproved land. 
Their home was a comfortable hewed-iog house, in which they lived for a 
number of years. Indians were still numerous in this portion of the country, 
but occasioned the settlers little trouble. Many hardships and trials incident 
to frontier life were to' be borne, however, and the task of developing a new 
farm was an arduous one. Mr. Hall purchased from the government two 
hundred and fcrty acres of land, and made it his home until his death in 
1863. His widow died in the Lone Star state in 1869. 

William E. Hall, their son, spent his early boyhood days upon his father's 





Tltc & 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 285 

farm in Jasper county, and during that period attended a private school and 
later a district school, pursuing" his studies through the winter months, while 
in the summer season he assisted in the labors of the farm. Owing to the 
death of his father the management and care of the farm devolved upon him 
as he was the eldest son. He assumed this heavy responsibility when only 
eighteen years of age, and well did he discharge his duties, giving evidence 
of the elemental strength of his character which has since been shown in the 
control of important and extensive business interests. At the age of eighteen 
years he cast his lot with the Confederate army, and served under Generals 
Shelby and Standwaite and later under General Cooper, being discharged 
in 1865 at the close of the war. He again went to Texas, where he resided 
with his mother until 1869. While living there he returned to his native 
county and was married to Margaret C. Glasscox, who died in Texas in 
April, 1870. In that year he returned to Jasper county, Missouri. 

For some time Mr. Hall engaged in the stock industry, buying cattle in 
Texas and driving them north to Jasper county, where they were wintered. 
In this enterprise he was associated with John S. McBride, who was after- 
ward elected sheriff of Jasper county. In the spring of 1871 Mr. Hall located 
near Webb City. On the 7th of May, 1871, Mr. Hall married, the lady being 
Miss Martha E. Webb, daughter of John C. Webb, of Webb City, the dis- 
coverer of zinc and lead in that locality. He found those minerals upon his 
farm and became the pioneer miner in the industry which has brought millions 
of dollars into Jasper county. After his marriage Mr. Hall took up his abode 
upon a farm in Mineral township, adjoining the home farm of his father-in- 
law, who resided there until 1879. While living upon the farm Mr. Hall 
was elected township assessor, serving in the years 1874-5-6. In 1878 he 
was elected to the office of county collector, and the following year removed 
to Carthage to take charge of the office, which he creditably filled for two 
years. On the expiration of his term he became interested in mining and 
farming, and to his business affairs he devoted his energies with marked suc- 
cess. He is the owner of a fine farm of eight hundred acres under a high 
state of cultivation, and part of it is underlaid with zinc and lead ore. In 
1883 ne to °k up his abode on the farm, remaining until 1889, when he again 
came to Carthage, from which place he manages his important and extensive 
business interests. His farm is well stocked with cattle and horses, and he 
has bred some of the finest trotters and saddle horses in the state. A man of 
resourceful ability, his efforts have been by no means confined to one line, 
and his sound judgment and enterprise have been important factors in the 



286 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

successful conduct of many enterprises. He was one of the organizers and 
is still a stockholder in the Central National Bank, and was one of a com- 
pany of ten reliable and prominent citizens who organized and conducted 
the business of the Jasper County Street Railway until all of the stockholders 
sold out. 

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hall has been blessed with the following 
children : John Winston, who died in his eighteenth year ; Ruth, who became 
the wife of Harry A. Vanderford, of Nashville, Tennessee, and died in 1897; 
Thomas, who wedded Mary H. Hendrix, of Fayette, Missouri, and resides 
in Carthage; and Edward M., who is engaged in the stock business upon his 
father's farm. In his political affiliations Mr. Hall is a pronounced Democrat 
and warmly espouses the principles of the party, but has never been an aspirant 
for office, serving only in the local positions previously mentioned. Socially 
he is identified with the Masonic fraternity. He is a man of very strong 
convictions and his integrity stands as an unquestioned fact in his career. 
The business policy which he has always followed has been most commendable. 
He is methodical, careful and thorough, and his career is one which will bear 
the light of the closest investigation and scrutiny. 

H. C. CURTIC. 

H. C. Curtic is one of the prominent farmers of Jasper county, Mis-^ 
souri, and resides on section 12, Marion township. He was born in Cass 
county, Michigan, March 15, 1858, and was a son of Riley Curtic, a native 
of Indiana, who moved to Michigan about 1833, locating in Lagrange town- 
ship, later moving elsewhere in the state, and died in 1898. His political con- 
nection was with the Democratic party. The mother of our subject was 
formerly Catherine Haas, who was born in Ohio, and now resides in Michi- 
gan. To Riley Curtic and wife were born five children, but only two of these 
are yet living, viz. : Our subject and his brother Raymond J., who is the 
publisher of the Dowagiae Herald, in Dowagiac, Michigan. 

H. C. Curtic was the eldest son of his parents and was reared in his 
native place, where he attended the common schools, and later the normal 
school at Valparaiso, Indiana. For a season Mr. Curtic engaged in teaching 
and then learned the carpenter's trade and also engaged in farming. This 
knowledge was all useful when he came to Jasper county, in 1885, and lo- 
cated upon the fine farm of three hundred and three acres, which he occupies. 
The excellent improvements, the fine barns and other buildings have been 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 287 

placed here by Mr. Curtic, and he has successfully carried on a general farming 
business. 

In 1882 Mr. Curtic was married to Miss Eva Reynolds, who was a na- 
tive of Cass county, and was a daughter of John A. and Laura J. (Jones) 
Reynolds, the former of whom was born in Columbus, New York, and for 
many years was a successful teacher there. He died in 1890, in Pennsyl- 
vania. Mrs. Reynolds was born in Rensselaer county, New York, and now 
resides with her daughter, Mrs. Curtic, who is the youngest of her four 
children. Mrs. Curtic was reared in Cass county, Michigan, and was liberally 
educated, and after some time in the normal school in Valparaiso she taught 
school. 

Mr. Curtic is one of the leaders in the Democratic party in this locality, 
is the efficient road commissioner, and is well and favorably known. 

GEORGE C. MEESE. 

George C. Meese, a prominent mine owner and leading citizen of Jasper 
county, is a native of Terre Haute, Indiana, a son of James and Sarah 
(Hawkins) Meese. The father removed from Kentucky to Terre Haute, In- 
diana, in a very early day, and the mother's family were also early settlers of 
that state. In 1876 the parents came to Jasper county, Missouri, and the 
father died in Cherokee county, Kansas, in 1887, at the age of fifty-six years. 

George C. Meese, whose name introduces this review, has been engaged in 
mining operations in this locality since 1882, prospecting principally on his 
own account. He served as superintendent for the Chicago Consolidated Min- 
ing Company for a time, and also the Holden Mining Company. He also 
opened up the first mine at Central City, which contained eighty acres of 
land, of which he still has the lease, and is the owner and at present operating 
the Tiger mine, on the Shiffendecker land, which has two shafts of one hun- 
dred and thirty-six feet. He also operates the Nemo lease, on the Kelly & 
Skimmerhorn lands, which contains three mines, the Reading & Clark, the 
Hornshell & Isaac and the Stevens. The first named is one of the most 
valuable mines in the locality, averaging from fifty to sixty tons of ore per 
week. He also opened up a rich mine on the Mahaska lease. Mr. Meese is an 
expert in the line of his chosen calling, and his well-directed efforts have 
brought to him a success that numbers him among the substantial citizens of 
his adopted state. 

He was united in marriage to Elizabeth J. Peer, of Joplin, and a daugh- 



288 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTV. 

ter of William Peer, one of the prominent early settlers of this locality, and 
a successful mine owner and operator. This marriage was blessed with five 
children, — Ola, Mabel, Bertha, Nellie and Leo Dele. The wife and mother was 
called to the home beyond January 30, 1900, and Leo Dele died May 10, 1900. 
The mother's death was the cause of wide-spread regret, not only by her im- 
mediate family, but throughout the locality in which she resided. Mr. Meese 
is prominent in the ranks of the Democratic party, and he was the choice 
of his party for the office of county tax adjuster and was also a member of 
the Democratic county committee. He is always ready to aid to the extent 
of his ability any movement which has for its object the promotion of the 
public good. He is unostentatious in his private helpfulness, but it is known 
that more than one man has found in him a "friend in need." 



J 



JOHN M. ROBINSON. 



John Morland Robinson, a merchant, justice of the peace and post- 
master 0'f Scotland, Jasper county, is a native son of Jackson county. West 
Virginia, his birth having occurred there on the 3d oi December, 185 1. His 
parents, Zed and Amanda (Campbell) Robinson, were also natives of Jack- 
son county. The father was called to his final rest at the age of forty years, 
when our subject was six years of age, and the mother had died previous 
to that time. They had two children, John being the eldest in order of birth, 
and the daughter, Mary A., is now the wife of Elias Rickard and resides in 
Sullivan county, Missouri. 

John Robinson, of this review, was thrown upon his own resources at the 
tender age of six years, and all that he now possesses is the result of inde- 
fatigable labor and wise judgment. For a snort time he made his home 
with an uncle, and after he reached a suitable age he engaged in farm work 
by the month or day, having been employed for seven years by one man, a 
Mr. Bonar, in Jackson county. West Virginia. When about seventeen years 
of age he began boating on the Ohio river, working on both tiatboats and 
steamers, and subsequently he was engaged in the produce business for two 
years, buying and shipping by boat to the towns along the Ohio river, con- 
tinuing that occupation until the fall of 1875. From the spring of 1876 
until 1892 he was engaged in general farming in Sullivan county, Missouri, 
but in the latter year he sold his interests there and engaged in merchan- 
dising at Walnut, Macon county, Missouri. At the end of five months, how- 
•ever, he exchanged his stock for a farm a mile and a quarter from Elmer, on 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 289, 

the Santa Fe Railroad, and later, in return for that land, he became the 
proprietor of a livery business at Milan, Sullivan county, Missouri, which he 
conducted for about five months. He then exchanged that property for four 
hundred acres of land in Sullivan county, near Winigan, which he subsequently 
sold and then purchased land in Adair county, this state, on which he located 
and there followed agricultural pursuits for two years. On the expiration 
of that period Mr. Robinson again sold his property and engaged in the drug 
business at Nind, Adair county, but a year later he sold his interests there 
and came to Jasper county, Missouri, locating at Duenweg. Shortly after- 
ward he came to Scotland and has since been engaged in the grocery hard- 
ware and gram business. In addition to his mercantile interests Mr Robinson 
is also engaged quite extensively in mining, being interested in the South Burch 
and Sandiago mines and also has mining property in Stone county, Missouri 
On the 22d of June, 1879, Mr. Robinson was united in marriage with 
Columbia Tipton, a native of Sullivan county, Missouri, and they have had 
eight children,— Beulah May, Thomas Zedock, Estella Lee, Edith Zelda 
Leila Pearl, John Leland, Amanda Opel and Luella Fay. Mr Robinson 
gives his political support to the Democracy, and his first vote was cast in 
Sullivan county, in 1876, for Tilden. On the 29th of August 1900 he 
was made postmaster of Scotland, and for a number of years he has also 
served as justice of the peace. He is a man of honor and uprightness and 
one who has made a host of friends in his locality. 

^ WILLIAM LOCHRIE. 

The spirit of determination, reliability and energy, which is so marked a 
characteristic of the Scotch people, has made the representatives of that na- 
tion valued citizens of every land to which the sons of Scotland have gone 
William Lochrie, a resident of Carthage, was born in the parish of Penning- 
ham, Wigton, in the ancient province of Galloway, Scotland, in March, 
1833, a son of Michael and Alary (Stewart) Lochrie, who emigrated to 
America in 1851 and took up their abode in Greene county, Illinois. For eight 
years they resided upon a farm there. William Lochrie was educated in 
Scotland and remained with his parents until he was seventeen years old ; then, 
with his parents' consent, spent six years in a clerical position in Leeds. 
Yorkshire, England. On the expiration of that period he embarked in mer- 
chandising on his own account and was thus engaged for three and a half 
years, after which he returned to the United States, going first to Greene 



290 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

county, Illinois. He afterward resided in Champaign county, where he fol- 
lowed farming until 1877 — the year of his arrival in Jasper county, Mis- 
souri. He settled first in Mineral township, and after three years removed 
to Twin Grove township, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres, con- 
tinuing its cultivation and improvement until he was elected treasurer of the 
county, entering upon the duties of the office on the 1st of January, 1901, 
for a term of two years. He was elected on the Democratic ticket, receiving 
the handsome majority of nine hundred and fifty-six votes. Prior to 1896 
he had been a Republican, but his views are now in harmony with the platform 
of the Democracy and he strongly supports his honest convictions. 

In 1863 Mr. Lochrie was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Dunham, 
of Champaign county, Illinois, a daughter of John and Matilda (Griffin) 
Dunham. They have ten children: Mary Stewart, who died on the 12th of 
October, 1896; Bernice, wife of John Long, of Jasper county; Alice, who 
married J. B. Evans and is living in Independence, Missouri ; Maud, the wife 
of James Whitlegge, of Jersey City, New Jersey; Samuel E., a resident 
farmer of this county; Annabel, who is acting in a clerical capacity in the 
treasurer's office; John M., Loraine, Georgie and Paul Haller, all of whom 
are with their parents. The family is widely known in the county and the 
members of the household occupy an enviable position in the social circles 
in which they move. Mr. Lochrie is a man of strong force of character and 
marked individuality, whose prosperity depends entirely upon his own labors, 
for from the time when he was seventeen years old he has been dependent 
upon his own resources, and his progress has been sure and steady, owing 
to his persistent, earnest and honorable effort. 

CHARLES J. G. WORKIZER. 

No history of Joplin would be complete without prominent reference to 
the gentleman whose name introduces this review. He came here in July, 
1 87 1, before any houses had been erected and has since been actively identified 
with the development and upbuilding of the town, which owes its rapid and 
substantial progress to the class of men of which he is a typical representative. 

Mr. Workizer is a native of Valley Forge, Chester county, Pennsyl- 
vania, and belongs to a well-known and honored pioneer family of that por- 
tion of the state. He has back of him an ancestry distinguished for brilliant 
military service and unfaltering loyalty to the government in times of peace 
as well as in days of war. Long prior to the establishment oi the republic 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 291 

the family was founded in America and Christian Workizer, the great- 
grandfather of our subject, took part in the colonial wars, being an engineer 
cfficer of the French army on the staff of General Montcalm. John Workizer, 
the grandfather, aided in the struggle for independence. He, too, was a 
native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, his birth occurring in the house which 
was also the birthplace of John S. and Charles Workizer, the former the 
father of our subject. He married a Miss Christman, who also belonged to 
an old Pennsylvania family. 

During the Civil war Mr. Workizer, of this review, fully sustained the 
family reputation for bravery and patriotism. He served throughout the 
struggle as a member of the Seventh Indiana Infantry and Third and Eighth 
Regiments of Indiana Cavalry, and was with the Army of the Potomac. 
During the early part of the war he was with McClellan's command in West 
Virginia. Later he saw service in Tennessee and the Atlanta campaign, and 
was with General Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea. He took part 
in all the early engagements in West Virginia, the battle of Winchester, the 
second battle of Bull Run and others, and was in the campaign in Tennessee, 
including the engagement at Knoxville. While in eastern Tennessee he was 
wounded, but during the greater part of the time was in active service. 
When the war closed he was serving as lieutenant and aid-de-camp on the staff 
of General Kilpatrick. 

\\ hen the war was over and the country no longer needed his services, 
Mr. Workizer came to Missouri. In 1871 he arrived in Joplin, which was 
then only a mining camp, for no houses had been erected and the work of 
building the town and promoting its progress lay in the future. He ac- 
cepted the position of superintendent for the Murphy & Davis Company, en- 
gaged in mining and smelting and was also their cashier. For three years 
he remained in their employ and afterward became interested in the owner- 
ship and development of mines on his own account. He continued a mine 
operator until 1896 and during that time was actively connected with the 
working of a number of valuable properties, which gave a rich yield of ore. 
For six years he was engaged in the drug business in Joplin and Zincite. 

In 1868 Mr. Workizer was united in marriage to Miss Imogene Cowan, 
of Jo Daviess county, Illinois, who had five brothers in the Civil war. one 
of whom, Major Cowan, was killed at Vicksburg. The only son of our 
subject and his wife has perpetuated the military spirit of his father, great- 
grandfather and great-great-grandfather, and is now in the service of his 
country. The only daughter, Tamson, is at home. Lieutenant Workizer, of 



292 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

this review, is a member of the Loyal Legion, and thus maintains pleasant 
relations with his old army comrades who wore the blue in defense of the 
Union. In Joplin and Jasper county he is widely and favorably known, for 
in business circles his record has been honorable and in all the walks of life he 
has been found true to duty and to upright principles. 

v LIEUTENANT JOHN G. WORKIZER. 

Bravery never fails to awaken admiration, and the soldier's uniform, in- 
dicative of courage and loyalty, is everywhere noted with interest. Jasper 
county has sent one of her native sons to service in far-off lands, for Lieu- 
tenant John G. Workizer has defended the flag in Cuba and in the Philip- 
pines, being at the present time located on the island of Samar, the last strong- 
hold of the insurgents in the Philippine islands. 

He was born in Joplin, in 1874, and pursued his early education in the 
schools of the town. For seven years he was a student in a Catholic school, 
and then entered the New York Military Academy, in which he was graduated 
when sixteen years of age. He next went to Europe with private tutors, study- 
ing languages and mathematics while abroad. He spent the year 1892 in the 
Stephens Polytechnic Institute in New York City, and in 1893 was ap- 
pointed a cadet to West Point Military Academy from the fifteenth district 
of Missouri, where he completed the regular four-years' course and was grad- 
uated in 1897. He was commissioned an additional second lieutenant in 
the Second Infantry and stationed at Fort Yates, North Dakota. He went 
with the Nineteenth Infantry to Porto Rico, then with the Second Regiment 
to Cuba, where he remained until August, 1900, when he went to the Philip- 
pines under order to sail for China, but the orders were afterward cancelled. 
He was commissioned first lieutenant March 2, 1899, and is now batallion ad- 
jutant, Second Infantry, on the island of Samar. He has seen active service 
there — that point being the last stronghold of the insurgents. 



/ 



REZIN FRANKS POUNDSTONE. 



Prominently identified with both the farming and the mining interests 
of Jasper county is R. F. Poundstone, whose fine farm of eight hundred acres 
comprises some of the best farming and grazing land of Twin Grove town- 
ship, and is also rich in mineral deposits. The birth of Mr. Poundstone was 
in Perry county, Ohio, on October 2j, 185 1, and he was a son of William S. 




R. F. POUHDSTONE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 295 

and Eva (Caughenbaugh) Poundstone, the former of whom was a native of 
Pennsylvania, and removed first to Ohio and then to Illinois, in 1861 locating 
in LaSalle county in the latter state, but at a still later date removed to Piatt 
county, Illinois. In 1869 he came to Jasper county and settled at Oronogo, 
but now resides in Carterville. His marriage was to Eva Caughenbaugh, 
who was born and reared in Ohio. She is still living. These parents had a 
family of four sons, three of whom are yet living. 

R. F. Poundstone was about ten years of age when he went with his 
parents to Illinois from Ohio, and attended the schools both in La Salle and 
Piatt counties. After coming to Jasper county in June, 1869, he engaged in 
mining, and as he was quite successful he followed this occupation in the 
various districts in this part of the country until 1888. Mr. Poundstone 
was the first man to engage in mining at Joplin. At that time the present 
flourishing city was represented by not a single building, but his success 
encouraged others and soon a tide of emigration flowed in. He was also 
successful at Carterville and other points, and at one time owned the largest 
mining tracts in Carterville. 

In the meantime Mr. Poundstone invested in land in Twin Grove town- 
ship and in 1888 located upon it. Here he has a magnificent propertv con- 
sisting of eight hundred acres all in one body, and he makes a specialty of 
the raising of horses and cattle. The improvements upon this land match 
its wide extent, having three tenant houses and barns, the largest structure 
of the latter kind being forty-six by ninety feet, with an L eighty-four by 
thirty-eight feet, making it the largest barn in Jasper county. This com- 
modious and substantial structure was erected in 1890 and all the other build- 
ings are kept in good order and are suitable and attractive. He is developing; 
mines which are located on a part of the land, and he also owns considerate 
property in Carterville, and belongs to a number of investment companies in 
this locality as a stockholder. 

Mr. Poundstone was married, in 1874, to Miss Anna .Oleson, who was 
born in Sweden and came to America when but eleven years old. Four chil- 
dren have been born to our subject and wife, these being: Arthur W., at 
home; Lillie May, who is the wife of James F. Wills, of Neosho, Missouri, 
and has one. child, — Maryanna ; William Oleson ; and a son who died in 
infancy. 

Our subject is prominent in the Democratic party and is a leading mem- 
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows: for many years he was n 

16 



296 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

trustee in the Methodist church at Carterville, and is now a trustee at Pleasant 
Hill Station. The family is one most highly esteemed in Jasper county, and 
Mr. Poundstone is a representative citizen. 

' L. C. WORMINGTON. 

L. C. Wormington, a leading grocer of Sarcoxie, Missouri, is one of the 
oldest business men in his line in the town, and has been identified with the 
growth and development of this section for many years. He was born July 
17, 1854, and is a son of William M. Wormington and a grandson of Wesley 
Wormington. William M. Wormington was born in Tennessee, and came 
with his parents in 1833 to Missouri, where he grew to manhood and re- 
ceived his education, learning then the trade of blacksmithing, which he fol- 
lowed during his residence in this state. In 1887, however, he removed to 
Indian Territory, where he still resides. The mother of our subject was for- 
merly Julia A. Woods, a daughter of Benjamin Woods, a native of Ken- 
tucky. Mr. Woods, a minister in the Presbyterian church, came to Missouri 
about 1833 and engaged in merchandising for some time in Sarcoxie. His 
death occurred in Newton county, Missouri, in 1900, when he was ninety-two 
years of age. PI is first wife died many years ago, and he married Cynthia 
Jameson, who still survives. Six children were born to William Worming- 
ton and his wife, and all of them survive with the exception of George, who 
died at Afton, Indian Territory, in 1901. Mr. Wormington was a brave sol- 
dier during the Civil war, a member of the company commanded by Captain 
Wells, of the Confederate army, and was one of the most capable members 
of the mechanical department. Socially he was well known in Masonic 
circles and was a charter member of Sarcoxie Lodge, No'. 293, F. & A. M. 
The mother of our subject died in 1897, at the age of sixty-five years. She 
had long been one of the most consistent members of the Methodist church, 

South. 

L. C. Wormington, our subject, received his education in the public 
schools of Sarcoxie, and in 1867 became associated with his father in the 
blacksmithing business. Removing their shop to the town, they there en- 
gaged in business until the first administration of President Cleveland. Both 
our subject and father had long been leading Democrats, and at this time the 
former's services were recognized by his appointment as deputy postmaster 
under J. W. Davis. During the .two years of his service he performed the 
duties of the office in a manner which reflected credit upon him and gave satis- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 297 

faction to the authorities at Washington. Since that time he has been en- 
gaged in the grocery business and has enjoyed a large patronage. 

In 1875 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Wormington to Miss Sarah 
James Oliver, who was born in Kentucky, a daughter of Daniel Oliver, who 
was a native of that state and came to Jasper county about the time of its 
settlement, dying here in 1896. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Wormington 
were: Leonard, a graduate of the Sarcoxie high school, who married Ger- 
trude Chambers and is a barber in Sarcoxie; John, a graduate of the high 
school; Mildred, who died at the age of five years; Walter, who died when 
two years old; Charles, who was also taken away about the age of two years; 
and Carl, who is still at home. Mr. Wormington is one of the progressive 
men of his town, and has taken a great interest in the cause of education, 
serving on the school board for a period of seven years. Socially he is well 
known and prominent in a number of orders, being connected with Sarcoxie 
Lodge, No. 293, F. & A. M., of which he is the present master; with" Sarcoxie 
Lodge, No. 248, I. O. O. R; with the Modern Woodmen of America; and 
with the Knights and Ladies of Security. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wormington 
are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, where they are known 
for their estimable Christian characters. Mr. Wormington is a liberal con- 
tributor in support of all benevolent enterprises. 

DAVID N. FRIEND. 

About twenty-two years have passed since David N. Friend came to the 
enterprising west, and through a long period he has been actively connected 
with the business interests of Jasper county, Missouri. His labors have con- 
tributed largely to its growth and upbuilding, and he is now regarded as one 

' of the leading mine owners and residents of the locality. 

Mr. Friend is a native of Macoupin county, Illinois. Leaving his native 
place, he removed to Pittsburg, Kansas, where he remained for twelve years, 
during which time he was engaged in the implement and buggy business. 
Five years ago he cast in his lot with the settlers of Jasper county, Missouri, 
where he has since been interested in mining operations, and for the past two 

years he has prospected on his own account. Fie is now superintendent of the 
United Zinc Company, which owns eighty acres of land at Chitwood Hollow, 
where they are operating three mines, the Brooklyn, Pelican and Cock Robin.' 
The mills have a capacity of one hundred tons each, and the six shafts are 
two hundred feet in depth. The Pelican mine is one of the best producers 



298 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

in the locality, yielding more high-grade ore than any other mine in the dis- 
trict. The company also own the King Jack, Conqueror, Silver Shield, the 
C. C, Hoosier, Bob Ingersoll and Lackawana, all of which are in operation 
and are extremely rich in their mineral deposits. Mr. Friend has also de- 
veloped mines at Belleville, Galena and Duenweg/ and at the latter place he 
has a lease of forty acres of land. 

In his social relations he is a prominent member of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias fraternity. His time and atten- 
tion, however, are closely given to his business interests, and his industry, 
enterprise and capable management are the important elements in his success. 



V 



ULYSSES HENDRICKSON. 



Among the prominent citizens of Jasper county, Missouri, none are 
better or more favorably known than Senator Hendrickson, who is now an 
esteemed resident of Oronogo. The birth of Ulysses Hendrickson occurred 
in Holmes county, Ohio, April 24, 1832, and his parents were Samuel and 
Sarah (Weatherby) Hendrickson. The Hendrickson family is an old and 
honored o>ne in the state of Maryland, and at an early day in the settlement of 
Holmes county, Ohio, one branch of it located there as pioneers, and among 
these first settlers was the grandfather of our subject. Samuel Hendrickson,. 
the father of our subject, was born in Holmes county and remained there until 
1846, when he turned his face westward and settled in Linn countv, Iowa, on 
government land. There he remained until 1868, when he came to Jasper 
county, Missouri, and died here at the age of eighty-three years. He was a 
valued member of the Masonic order. 

The mother of Senator Hendrickson was formerly Sarah Weatherby, 
and, although born in Massachusetts, she was reared in Ohio, and died in 
Missouri, at the age of seventy years. Her father, John Weatherby. was 
also one of the early settlers of Holmes county, Ohio, and was of English 
ancestry. The parents of our subject reared these children: Marietta and 
Martha, deceased; our subject; Lucretia and Iantha, deceased; Andrew J., 
of Indian Territory; Melvina, the wife of J. W. Hawn, of Indian Territory; 
and James M., deceased. 

Air. Hendrickson was the eldest son of the family of his parents, although 
the third child, and until he was fourteen years old was reared in his. native 
county and attended the district schools. When the family removal was made 
to Iowa he accompanied them, and the rest of his education was received in 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 299 

the log school-houses on Otter creek, Linn county, Iowa. He was an apt 
student, however, and acquired a very thorough knowledge of the branches 
then taught, which travel, reading and the associations of his later life devel- 
oped into a broad and liberal education. 

Like many of the young men of that neghborhood, Mr. Hendrickson 
remained under his father's roof until he was prepared to establish a home 
of his own. On September 26, 1855, he married Mary J. Cochran, and they 
removed to Fayette county, Iowa. Mrs. Hendrickson was born in Pickaway 
county, Ohio, February 28, 1837, and was a daughter of George and Hannah 
(Ward) Cochran, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The latter died when 
her daughter Mary was but one year old, the only other member of the family 
being a brother, John Cochran, of Center Point, Iowa. 

Until 1866 Mr. Hendrickson engaged in farming on his land in Fayette 
county, but at that period he decided to locate in Jasper county, Missouri. 
At that time there were few railroads in that section, Sedalia and Kansas 
City being the nearest railroad points, and the weighty questions arose con- 
cerning the many things to be left behind, as the journey was long and tedious. 
The new land was located in Mineral township, three miles west of Oronogo, 
and was a forty-acre tract, on section 36, town 29, range 33. Here the new 
settlers erected a cabin with dimensions sixteen by eighteen feet and containing 
but one window, but this was better than their first home, which was but a hut 
with sod chimney and sliding door. Llere the family resided and here the 
children were born. They are: Commodore Perry, of Webb City; John P., 
engaged in stock-raising in Reno county, Kansas ; Iantha, the wife of Thomas 
R. McLaughlin, a farmer of Reno county ; Minerva, the wife of Harvey 
Nance, of the same county ; Grace, at home ; and Cole C. 

Mr. Hendrickson thoroughly understood farming, and the new home 
was rapidly cleared, cultivated and improved. His land increased to four 
hundred acres, and commodious and suitable buildings were erected as time 
went on. After his entrance into political life Mr. Hendrickson found less 
time to give attention to his estates, and has disposed of much of his land. 
In 1897 he bought his fine residence in Oronogo., although removal was made 
from the farm in 1874, when he was made sheriff of the county, which neces- 
sitated a residence in Carthage. Two years later he returned to the farm 
and continued its cultivation until 1890, when he was elected to the senate 
from the twenty-eighth senatorial district. Four years were given in service 
to the state, and at its close Senator Hendrickson located in Oronogo. Early 



300 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY. 

in 1901 he sold his land to prospectors, but in a financial way he is interested 
in many other sections of the county. 

Senator Hendrickson represented a Democratic constituency in the sen- 
ate, but he is a man of large views, enlightened understanding, and in his 
work for his section knows no party lines. Faithful to his ideas of justice 
and right, he brought honor upon himself and the district which he repre- 
sented, and is one of the leading men in this part of the state. 

DA VON SHOUSE. 

Kentucky has given birth to many men who have attained prominence 
in Missouri in different fields of human endeavor. One of the best known 
native Kentuckians in the Joplin mining district is Davon Shouse, who when 
he came to this state located first at Neosho, coming thence o> Jasper county 
about thireen years ago. Since that time he has drilled in all parts of this 
mining district, and has opened up several good mines, including the Bull 
Dog mine, on the Cleveland lease ; several mines at Central City ; and a good 
mine on the John Jackson land. He is the owner of a good outfit and is 
prospecting in mining entirely on his own account, his intimate knowledge of 
everything pertaining to mining and his strict attention to business enabling 
him to achieve a noteworthy success. 

Mr. Shouse married Miss Harriet Jeffcott, daughter of the late Joseph 
Jeffcott, a pioneer prospector and miner and an early settler in Joplin town- 
ship. Mr. Shouse is a man of public spirit, who takes an interest in all ques- 
tions affecting the welfare of his fellow citizens, and he is highly regarded 
as a friend and neighbor. 



& 1 



1 



JOSEPH GREEN. 



As an example of the usefulness and prominence to which men of char- 
acter and determination may attain it is but necessary to chronicle the life 
of Joseph Green, one of the representative agriculturists of Marion town- 
ship. He was born in Clinton county, Ohio, January 9, 18 18. His" father, 
Robert Green, was born in Grayson county, Virginia, November 14, 1792, 
and was reared and married in the county of his nativity. In 18 16 he re- 
moved to> Clinton county, Ohio, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits 
and also followed the trade of blacksmithing. He there spent the remainder 
of his life, passing away on the 5th of April, 1843. He was reared in the 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 301 

faith of the Friends church, in which he took an active and prominent part, 
and in his political affiliations he was a Whig. His father was also a native 
of the Old Dominion, and was a life-long farmer. He alsoi removed to Clin- 
ton county, Ohio, in 1816. His father, Isaac Green, was born in 1735, and 
was a son of Robert and Mary Green, who are supposed to be of English 
descent. The mother of our subject, who was in her maidenhood Mary 
Jackson, was a native of Grayson county, Virginia, born in 1799. Her father 
was Joseph Jackson. Unto Robert and Mary (Jackson) Green were born 
nine children, two daughters and seven sons, and eight of the number grew 
to man and womanhood. Six of the sons are still living. 

Joseph Green, the eldest child in the above family and the immediate 
subject of this review, was reared and educated in his native county. He 
there followed agricultural pursuits until 1870, the year of his arrival in 
Jasper county, Missouri. On coming to this county he immediately located 
on the farm on which he still resides, where he has made many valuable and 
substantial improvements and has placed his fields under a high state of culti- 
vation. The farm is one of the valuable ones of the locality, and there he is 
engaged in general farming, his efforts being attended with a high and grati- 
fying degree of success. 

In Clinton county, Ohio, on the 1st of September, 1842, Mr. Green was 
united in marriage with Rhoda West, and their union was blessed with the 
following children: William AY., a resident of Carthage, Missouri; Robert 
A., of Jasper county, this state; Joseph L., a lawyer, who resides in Ram- 
part, Alaska; Sarah E., the wife of M. L. Elliott; Mary E., born November 
23, 1843, who became the wife of Parker Moon and died on the 10th of Janu- 
ary, 1877. For his second wife Mr. Green chose Mary (Thornton) Lewis, 
the widow of Eber Lewis, but no children were born of that union. On the 
15th of September, 1887, he married Lydia (Carter) Wheeler, the widow of 
Nathan Wheeler. The lady is a native of North Carolina, her birth having 
occurred there on the 3d of August, 1827. Mr. Green now has eight grand- 
children and four great-grandchildren. His first presidential vote was cast 
for William Henry Harrison in 1840, and his grandson, Leonodus Moon, 
cast his first vote for Benjamin Harrison. Our subject also voted for Fre- 
mont and Lincoln, and for Henry Clay on the anti-slavery ticket, and he is 
now a stanch advocate of the Prohibition party, doing all in his power to 
promote its growth and advancement. He was reared in the Friends church, 
and is now an elder and exhorter therein. Mr. Green has retired from the 
active duties of a business life and rents his farm. He has been ably assisted 



302 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY. 

in the battle for existence by his wives, who- have been worthy and exemplary 
women. His first wife was a minister in the Friends church. Mr. Green 
has thoroughly identified himself with the section where he resides, and all 
moral public measures which commend themselves to his excellent judgment 
find in him a hearty and liberal supporter. 



y 



LON STONE. 



Many theories have been advanced as to the best method of winning 
success, but the only safe, sure way to gain it is by close application, perse- 
verance and careful consideration of the business problems that are continually 
arising. Investigation will show that the majority of men who have started 
out in life with little or no capital and have won a competency if not wealth 
have to attribute their prosperity to just such causes, and it is in those elements 
which have made Mr. Stone one of the leading business men of the state. He 
is now superintendent of the Prince mine, in Chitwood, owned by a Boston 
company, and is numbered among the representative residents of the county. 

Mr. Stone is a native of Wright county, Missouri, and is a son of Thomas 
Stone, who removed from middle Tennessee to that county in 1852. He 
served as sheriff of Ozark county, Missouri, for four years, and his death 
occurred at the early age of sixty-two years. The Stone family were early 
settlers in Virginia. The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name 
of Nancy Murphy, was a native of Tennessee and was a daughter of Dr. 
Murphy, of Robinson county, Tennessee. The son, Lon Stone, of this review, 
came to Joplin in February, 1872, and it had just been incorporated, only a 
few houses having been built in the eastern portion of the town. He imme- 
diately engaged in mining pursuits, an occupation which he has since fol- 
lowed with good success. He has been engaged principally as superintendent 
for large and important companies, but has also prospected on his own 
account, having opened up and developed some very important mining prop- 
erties. At one time he leased the Nicholsville ground, and in an early day 
worked on Parr Hill. He held the position of ground superintendent for the 
John Jackson Mining Company, at Whit wood Hollow, was also superin- 
tendent of the Cornfield ground, and for the past three years has been superin- 
tendent of the Prince mine, in Chitwood, which is a very valuable and paying 
piece of property. It contains a one-hundred-ton mill and two shafts, one 
hundred and forty-five and one hundred and thirty-five feet. Success- has 




LON STOHE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 30$ 

abundantly rewarded the efforts of Mr. Stone, but all that he now possesses 
is the outcome of unfaltering industry and honorable business methods. 

He was united in marriage with Miss Lina Chambers, a native of Ohio, 
and they now have a beautiful residence in Joplin, where they enjoy the hos- 
pitality and friendship of a large circle of acquaintances. Five children 
have graced this marriage, namely : Iva, the wife of F. M. Holder, of 
Joplin ; Elmer and Fred Stone, who are engaged in mining with their father ; 
Don ; and Reitha. Mr. Stone gives his political preference to the Republican 
party, and he is an active worker in its ranks, doing everything in his power 
to promote the success of his party. Socially he is a member of the Ancient 
Order of United Workmen and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
fraternity. 

F. E. ADAMS. 

The reading public of Webb City, Jasper county, liberally supports cue 
of the most ably edited newspapers in southwestern Missouri, the Webb City 
Daily Sentinel. This bright, interesting and well-conducted journal is the 
property of its energetic editor and publisher, F. E. Adams, who is not only 
a successful newspaper man, but also a lawyer of marked ability. 

Mr. Adams was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, February 17, 1856, 
a son of Rev. Jesse and Jane (Gallagher) Adams. His father was a well- 
known clergyman of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and in connec- 
tion with his ministerial labors he engaged in farming. His death occurred 
in 1885. The mother of our subject was born in Fayette county, Pennsyl- 
vania, in the vicinity of Uniontown, and was a daughter of John Gallagher, 
a farmer in that neighborhood. 

F. E. Adams was liberally educated. His boyhood was spent on the 
farm and he attended the public schools, and later was afforded the advantages 
of Waynesburg College, at which he was graduated in the class of 1882. 
Soon afterward he engaged in newspaper work, and for two and one-half 
years he was on the editorial staff of the National Stockman, but his active 
mind required a larger field, and in 1886 he went to West Plains, Kansas, 
and began the reading of law. He was admitted to the Kansas bar, at 
Springfield, in 1887, an d immediately entered into practice. He also became 
connected with the Bank of Seward County, but in 1890 went to Ava, Mis- 
souri, where in connection with J. M. Adams he started the Bank of Ava, 
of which he was cashier for three and one-half years. 

Although during this time he was not in newspaper work, the instinct 



306 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

was only sleeping, and in 1895 he went to Mansfield and opened up a law 
practice and also returned to his journalistic work. In July, 1899, he came 
to Webb City, and then bought the Webb City Daily Sentinel, which at that 
time was not a paying piece of property. However, this was soon changed. 
Instilling into every avenue of the business his own energy and progressive- 
ness, Mr. Adams soon placed it on a paying basis, and it now is the largest, 
and its growing list of subscribers declare it to be, the best newspaper not only 
in Webb City, but in Jasper county. It is a paper of eight pages of eight 
columns each, is independent in politics, and has a daily and weekly edi- 
tion. The office is equipped with a good Campbell news press and two Gor- 
don job presses, and twenty-three employes are required to conduct the work, 
for the circulation extends to almost every postoffice in the county, .while the 
job office handles almost all of the work of that kind in this vicinity. 

Mr. Adams was married in 1885 to Miss M. Louise Carpenter, of Bran- 
don, Vermont, who was also educated at Waynesburg College, Pennsylvania. 



THOMAS F. COYNE. 

Thomas F. Coyne, a representative resident of Webb City, is now serv- 
ing as superintendent of the Ada Mining Company, in which he is also a 
stockholder. He claims Wisconsin as the state of his nativity, while his 
parents were both natives of the Green Isle o<f Erin. They came to Webb 
City, Missouri, in 1876, where the father followed mining in an early day, 
and here his death occurred in 1889. The mother still makes her home in 
this city, having reached the seventy-sixth milestone on the journey of life. 

Thomas Coyne accompanied his parents on their removal to Webb City, 
Missouri, receiving in the city schools his primary education, which was sup- 
plemented by a course in the Sedalia Business College in 1889. After laying 
aside his text-books he entered the Webb City Bank, where he was employed 
as assistant cashier for nine years. Three years ago he resigned his position 
there to engage in mining pursuits, and this has indeed proved a profitable 
venture, as success has abundantly rewarded his efforts. He has bought 
and sold much mining property. He was interested in the sale of the Mosley 
mine, which was disposed of at a large profit, and assisted in the opening up of 
the Coyne DeMott mine on Center creek, on which they erected a mill and 
■ afterward sold at a handsome profit. He next opened up a mine in Center 
valley, which he also> sold. Mr. Coyne is superintendent of the Stevenson- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 307 

Moore mine, which was purchased at a cost of thirty-three thousand dollars 
and later sold for sixty thousand dollars. 

Mr. Coyne was united in marriage with Miss Louise Miller, a native of 
Wisconsin, and their union has been blessed with two children, Roy Ray- 
mond and Mary Louise, aged respectively eight and three years. The family 
is one of prominence in the locality, and Mr. Coyne is recognized as one of 
the leading and influential residents of his locality. 



WILLIAM E. ROBBINS. 

Among the prominent business men of Alba who have attained success 
and are counted among the most worthy and honored citizens may be men- 
tioned William E. Robbins. No name stands more properly placed in the 
history o<f Jasper county than his, for he is not only one of its progressive 
business men, but is of such a social, genial nature that he has made many 
friends. 

Mr. Robbins is a native of Miami county, Indiana, his birth having oc- 
curred on the 19th of November, 1862, a son of Isaac and Sarah (Hubbard) 
Robbins. The father was a native of the Buckeye state, but when a boy 
removed to Indiana and afterward took up his abode in Hamilton county, 
Illinois, where he was engaged in railroad work. The 5th of July, 1871, 
witnessed his arrival in Jasper county, Missouri, and after reaching this county 
he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Alba, where success abundantly rewarded 
his well-directed efforts. He is now living retired from the active duties of 
a business life, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned, and he makes his 
home in Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Robbins were the parents of four children,, 
two daughters and two- sons. 

William E. Robbins, the eldest child in the above family and the only 
son now living, was nine years of age when he accompanied his parents on 
their removal to Jasper county. His primary education was received in the 
schools of Vermilion county, Illinois, and after coming to this state he at- 
tended the Carthage schools for five years. After putting aside his text-books 
to take up the active duties of life he became an employe of F. M. McDaniel 
in the milling business, which he followed for eight years, working in differ- 
ent mills in Jasper county. At the age of twenty-one years he engaged in 
business with his father in Alba, and in 1898, on the retirement of the latter, 
he succeeded to the business. He is now the proprietor of a well-stocked 



308 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

grocery establishment, and is a shrewd business man, dealing fairly and 
squarely with all his patrons. 

In 1883 occurred the marriage of Mr. Robbins and Miss Dora Will- 
iams, a native of Illinois and a daughter of S. B. and Mary A. (Jones) 
Williams. When eleven years of age she accompanied her parents on their 
removal to Jasper county, Missouri. Their union has been brightened and 
blessed by the presence of three children, — Pauline, Ethel and Edith. In 
his political affiliations Mr. Robbins is a stalwart Republican, and during 
President McKinley's administration he served as the postmaster of his town. 
His father also held that position under General Harrison's administration. 
Socially he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen 
fraternities. He was reared in the Quaker faith, his father having been a 
prominent worker in that society, and he has ever been true to the teachings 
of his boyhood. His life has been crowned with success, and he now enjoys 
the respect and esteem of all with whom he has become acquainted. 



JESSE FRANKENBERGER. 

Among the well-known citizens of Webb City, Missouri, is Jesse Frank- 
enberger, who was born in Blooinington, Illinois, March 17, 1850. His par- 
ents were Jesse and Eliza ( Strong) Frankenberger, the former of whom 
was born in Virginia, while the latter was born in Xenia, Ohio. At the time 
the father of our subject located in McLean county, Illinois, he was the third 
settlers there, and Indians were frequently seen. He lived until 1868, and the 
mother survived until 1871. 

Until he was twenty years old our subject remained in Bloomington 
and attended the common schools, and later took a commercial course in a 
business college in that place. After leaving school he went to Indianapolis, 
Indiana, and there became assistant superintendent of the gas works, and effi- 
ciently filled that position for ten years. 

In 1880 Mr. Frankenberger came to Carthage, Missouri, and there en- 
gaged in the mercantile business for two years, leaving there to take up mining 
in Webb City, since which time he has been connected with the industrial 
interests of this place. He has been actively identified with local politics, 
and in 1898 was elected to the office of justice of the peace by the Repub- 
licans for four years. He has been a member of the Republican county com- 
mittee and chairman of the citv committee. Socially he is connected with 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 309 

the Knights of Pythias order, and also of the order of Knights and Ladies 
of Security. 

In 1871 Mr. Frankenberger was married to Miss Clara Harlan, a daugh- 
ter of Dr. Harlan, of Indianapolis, who was the principal of the Eighth Ward 
school. Three children have been born of this marriage: Clara, Mabel and 
Grace. Mrs. Frankenberger died in 1880, and in 1882 Mr. Frankenberger 
was united in marriage to Miss Clara Marquis, of Webb City, a teacher in 
the public schools. By this union there are also three children, — Blanche, 
Edna and Lea. 

* WILLIAM M. SHAFER. 

William M. Shafer, who is one of the most prosperous agriculturists of 
his locality, has been a resident of Jasper county for many years, and has con- 
tributed much toward the general welfare of the community, where he is held 
in high esteem. He is a native of Rockingham county, Virginia, his birth 
having occurred there on the 25th O'f January, 1850. His paternal great- 
grandfather was born in Germany, and thus our subject is descended from that 
thrifty and progressive German stock which has been so beneficial to> our 
American citizenship. His grandfather, Peter Shafer. was a native of Penn- 
sylvania and became an early settler of Virginia, where he followed the occu- 
pation of farming. The father of our subject, Michael Shafer, was a native 
of Rockingham county, Virginia, and in the county of his nativity he was 
reared and educated. He became a prominent farmer and stockman, and 
was the owner oof two hundred and fifty acres of land. He passed away on 
the 10th of October, 1862, in the faith of the old-school Lutheran church. 
As a companion on the journey of life he chose Elizabeth Miller, a native of 
the Old Dominion and a daughter of Philip Miller, also a native of Virginia. 
Her father was born in France. Michael and Elizabeth (Miller) Shafer 
became the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters. 

William M. Shafer, the third child in order of birth, was only about ten 
years of age when his father died, and at the age of thirteen years he was 
left an orphan by the death of his mother. A few years later, at the age 
of seventeen years, he removed to McLean county, Illinois, where he worked 
on a farm by the month during the summer seasons and was employed in feed- 
ing cattle during the winter. He remained in Illinois for about five years, 
when he returned to Virginia, spending eight years in the state of his birth, 
and then, in 1883, came to Jasper county, Missouri. On his arrival in this 



310 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

state he purchased what was known as the old Elliott farm, then consisting 
of eighty acres, but he has since added to the place until it contains one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of the best land to be found in the locality. He has 
made many improvements upon his place, and is there extensively engaged 
in farming and stock-raising. 

The year 1875 witnessed the marriage of William M. Shafer and Abigail 
E. Beam, who was born and reared in Augusta county, Virginia. This union 
has been blessed with three children, namely: Anna M., the wife of F. G. 
King, of Webb City; Michael M., who married Miss Adeline G. Taylor, and 
resides on a part of his father's farm; and Walter M., at home. In his politi- 
cal affiliations Mr. Shafer is a stanch supporter of the Democracy. The 
cause of education also finds in him a warm friend, and for fifteen years he 
served as a member of the school board. From the early age of thirteen 
years he was obliged to depend upon his own resources for a livelihood, and 
is thus a striking example of the boys who educate themselves and secure 
their own start in life, — determined, self-reliant boys, willing to work for 
advantages which others secure through inheritance. He has battled ear- 
nestly and energetically, and by indomitable courage and integrity has 
achieved both character and affluence. 

MICHAEL GRUNDLER. 

That sturdy German element in our American population which, by its 
industry, its integrity and its conservatism, has gone far toward making 
our national character the admirable thing it is, is represented more creditably 
nowhere than in Missouri. One of the more prominent of the German- 
American citizens of Joplin, Jasper county, is the well-known mine operator 
and superintendent whose name appears above. 

Michael Grundler was born in Rhineland, Germany, and was there reared 
and educated until he was fifteen years old, when he came to the United 
States. In 1884 he located at Joplin, and identified himself with the mining 
interests of that locality. He has operated chiefly on his own account, and in 
1890 he opened up a good mine on Shneider Brothers' lease at Blendville. 
Later he opened up another good mine on the Empire lease in the same locality. 
He is superintendent and part owner of the mine on the Cor bin- Spencer land, 
east of Joplin, where three shafts were sunk to a depth of one hundred feet 
in 1 90 1. In the last mentioned enterprise he is associated with ex- Sheriff 
W. S. Crane. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 3." 

Mr. Grundler married Miss Delpha Ross, daughter of William Ross, 
-of Blendville, or South Joplin, as the place is popularly called. Mr. Ross 
came to Joplin in 1872, when the town was in its infancy, and was for many 
years identified with mining- interests. He is now doing a successful business 
as a grocer. Mr. and Mrs. Grundler have four children, — William, Mar- 
garet, Dora and Bessie. 

HENRY B. CROSSMAX. 

The name of Crossman has long been well known in commercial and 
financial circles at Joplin, Jasper county, where W. B. Crossman was once 
a jeweler, and his sons, the Crossman Brothers, of whom Henry B. Cross- 
man is one, have been and are intimately connected with mining interests. 
W. B. Crossman was born in Cook county, Illinois, and settled at Carthage 
in 1868 and in Oronogo in 1872, removing thence to Joplin in 1880. He 
was the proprietor o<f a jewelry store there until his death, nineteen years 
later, at the age of seventy-two years. William Crossman, father of W. B. 
Crossman and grandfather of Henry B. Crossman, was a native of Scotland 
and located within the present limits of the city of Chicago in 1829. He 
died there in i860, when more than eighty years q\d. He was the owner of 
a considerable tract of land there, which is now of great value. W. B. Cross- 
man married Lomira Babcock, who was also a native of Cook county, Illi- 
nois, and died at Joplin in 1897, aged sixty-four years. 

Henry B. Crossman was educated in the public schools of Carthage, 
Jasper county, Missouri, and began active business life as a driller for mining 
purposes with Perry L. and A. E. Crossman as partners, as members of the 
firm of Crossman Brothers. Later L. L. Crossman was admitted to< the corn- 
pan}-. From that day to this they have been constantly drilling in a never- 
ceasing search for the valuable minerals, and the Crossman Brothers have 
drilled more than four thousand holes in Jasper county alone. The holes 
drilled average a depth of one hundred and fifty feet, about one-fourth of 
which have gone down to paying mines. 

Mr. Crossman has done a good deal of mining on his own account, and 
in 1892 the Crossman Mining Company opened a first-class mine on the Rex 
tract, which yet yields profitably. The same company opened the Blackberry 
mine on the Grandby land west of Joplin, and is operating the Cliff Lead & 
Zinc Company's mines on the same tract, besides other good properties. 

Mr. Crossman married Miss Mollie Haynes, daughter of J. W. Haynes, 



312 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

of Joplin, and has children named Roy, Nettie, Frank, Stella and Ernest. 
He was received as an entered apprentice, passed the fellow craft degree and 
was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason, and took the capitular 
degrees of mark master, past master and most excellent master and was ex- 
alted to the august degree of Royal Arch Mason ; took the degrees of mystic 
Masonry and passed the circle of Royal and Select Masters ; took the degrees 
of chivalric Masonry and was constituted, dubbed and created a Knight Tem- 
plar, and was inducted into the mysteries of the Ancient Arabic Order of the 
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In politics 
he affiliates with the Republican party, of whose policy he heartily approves. 
He has been a citizen of Joplin since 1880, and has shown himself to be 
public spirited and enterprising. 



J 



AMOS A. CASS. 



One of the most conspicuous exponents of that sturdy spirit of American 
progressiveness which enables men to win success in any field of labor to 
which they may be called, that could be pointed out among the many suc- 
cessful miners and business men of Jasper county, Missouri, is Amos A. Cass, 
of Carterville. He is a native of Georgia, but was taken to east Tennessee 
while yet a mere child, and was there reared to manhood. James M. Cass, 
his grandfather, was a cousin of General Lewis Cass. His father, James M. 
Cass, died in Tennessee. His mother, who prior to her marriage was Miss 
Martha Jane Ryan, was a native of Georgia, and she died in Carterville, Mis- 
souri. 

Mr. Cass, a contractor and builder, came to Jasper county in 1886 and 
engaged in the milling business, but soon began to give attention to mining. 
During the last five years he has devoted himself exclusively to mining, and 
is now interested in seven good plants, having three on the Cornfield land, at 
Carterville, one on the Perry lease, one on the McKinley lease and one on Judge 
McGregor's lands, besides one other at Oronogo, all productive mines, well 
equipped with good machinery, and he has come to be known as one of the 
most extensive miners in the district. He is a partner and director in the 
Weeks Hardware Company at Carterville, and is a director in the Carterville 
Investment Company, of which corporation he is secretary. 

A man of much public spirit, he has the best interests of Carterville at 
heart and he is one of its most active and progressive citizens and one of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 315 

leading Democrats of Jasper county. He was for eight years a member of the 
school board of Carterville and was influential in increasing the number of 
school rooms of the public schools of the town from four to fourteen and in 
securing the erection of two new brick school buildings. In 1867 he was received 
as an Entered Apprentice, passing the Fellow Craft degree and was raised to 
the Sublime degree of Master Mason. Later he took the degrees of capitular 
Masonry, became in turn a Mark Master, a Past Master and a Most Ex- 
cellent Master and was exalted to the august degree of Royal Arch Mason ; the 
degrees of Chivalric Masonry were conferred upon him and he was constituted, 
dubbed and created a Knight Templar, and still later he acquired the Royal 
degrees of the Secret Ineffable degrees of the Scottish Rite. 

Mr. Cass married Miss Sarah Hunt, a native of east Tennessee. His son, 
Walter W. Cass, owns a good interest in four good producing mines and is 
connected with his father in the management of the Bell C. and L. C. mines, 
of which he is superintendent and his son, Carl C. Cass, is assistant superin- 
tendent. He had four daughters : Ollie, the eldest, the deceased wife of M. 
V. James, of Carterville; Lillie A., wife of O. H. Schoenherr; Belle B., at 
home; and Beulah Jene, a student in St. Charles College, at St. Louis, Mis- 
souri. 

WILLIAM M. LECKIE. 

One of the most prominent citizens of Joplin is William Murrv Leckie, 
the owner of the Joplin Machine Works, and a man who has probably done 
more to advance the interests of this section than any other one resident. He 
was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, where he was educated as an engineer and 
engine builder, and so thoroughly was he taught and so expert did he become, 
both in the drawing and also in the building of engines, that at the age of 
twenty-seven, — a time when many young men are still looking about for a 
vocation, — he was placed in charge of the Blackness foundry, in Dundee, 
Scotland, with four hundred men under his direction. 

When Mr. Leckie came to America he accq>ted a position with the Rogers 
Locomotive Works, and later with Mr. Bradford, the patentee of concen- 
trating machinery, in whose interest he traveled, contracting for and setting 
up ore concentrators and other machinery. In 1876 he established the Joplin 
Machine Works, which was the pioneer house of its kind in the county and 
now manufactures all kinds of mine machinery, — coal mining engines and 
boilers, mills, concentrators for lead, zinc and silver ores, — and has, by the 

17 



316 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

introduction of this improved machinery, made great changes in the methods 
of mining. 

Air. Leckie has done much mining in Jasper county and owns considera- 
ble mining land. He has opened some very satisfactory mines, and handled 
the Lehigh mine, the Three Friends mines being on land owned by our sub- 
ject, and likewise the Pinkard mines, which comprise eighty acres, are owned 
by him. 

Mr. Leckie was married in Scotland, and his one son, William Murry, 
was educated there and is his father's capable assistant in his business in 
Joplin. Mr. Leckie has long been connected with the Masonic order, and is 
one of the representative citizens of this great mining center. 

B. M. HENRY, M. D. 

It is much to achieve success, it is infinitely more to win the gratitude 
of the suffering and afflicted. In Jasper county there is perhaps no one who 
in this regard has greater reason for content than Dr. B. M. Henry. Many 
years of devoted labor have placed him among the few who may be said to 
be at the head of the medical profession in this community, and such has 
been the cordial, kindly, generous manner of his ministrations that in the 
hearts of those who- have received it there is a sense of grateful recognition 
that words cannot express. 

The Doctor was born in Harrisburg, Kentucky, on the ist of Septem- 
ber, 1869, a son of Zac B. and Josephine (Patterson) Henry, natives also 
of Kentucky. The father was a prominent breeder oi horses, and his death 
occurred in Kansas City, Missouri, where he had retired from the active 
duties of a business life. The mother and their only daughter, Curtis M., 
now reside with our subject. They were the parents of only two children. 
The son was about sixteen years of age when he left the state of his nativity, 
and his first schooling was received in Captain Henry's Academy, a private 
school in Versailles, Kentucky, far famed as a leading institution of learning. 
After his removal to Kansas City, Missouri, he became a traveling salesman 
for the firm of Joseph Cann & Company, his territory covering the state of 
Kansas, and he was thus engaged for a period of about one year. He was 
next employed as deputy comptroller under Stanley Hobbs, of Kansas City, 
in which position he continued for two years. 

Dr. Henry then decided to make the practice of medicine his life work, 
and accordingly began the study of his chosen profession under the precep- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 317 

torship of Dr. Colban, of Kansas City, afterward matriculating in the Uni- 
versity Medical College, now known as the East Side School, in which insti- 
tution he was graduated. Dr. Henry subsequently completed the course in 
the Kansas City Medical College, and after graduating from the latter insti- 
tution he was engaged in practice one year in Kansas City with his former pre- 
ceptor, who was one of the leading physicians of that city, and also held the 
position of consulting physician in the German Hospital. In 1892 Dr. Henry 
canie to Alba, Jasper county, and has here practiced his profession most 
successfully since. His thorough knowledge of principles and his accurate 
and ready application of them have won for him not only the confidence of 
the public, but a very prominent position in the profession. In politics he 
adheres to the principles of the Democratic party, and during Cleveland's 
administration he served as secretary of the board of examiners at Carthage, 
Missouri. He is also vice-president of the Jasper County Medical Society! 
and is a member of the yEsculapius Society of Kansas City. 

In addition to his extensive medical practice Dr. Henrv has also found 
time to devote to other interests. He was one of the promoters of the "Rub- 
ber Neck" mine, at Neck City, Jasper county, of which he was the discoverer, 
and that mine has since sold for three hundred thousand dollars. He is also 
interested in the Sunburn lease, a tract of twenty acres in Mineral township, 
and the mine is known as the "Saturday." Another mine in which the Doctor 
holds an interest is the Big Strip, which joins the Big Kate on the east. In 
both the business and professional world the Doctor has won an enviable posi- 
tion, and those who have known him longest are numbered among his best 
and truest friends. 



/ 



JOHN BUTLER. 



Although Jasper county has gained for itself a wide reputation for its 
mineral deposits, the rich land also produces most delicious fruits and well 
repays the efforts of the horticulturist. Among those who have succeeded 
in the fruit cultivation of this part of the state is John Butler, who now 
resides on a farm of twenty-five acres east of the city of Joplin. 

Mr. Butler was born in England, and was brought to America by his 
parents when but one year old. He was the son of John and Elizabeth 
(Miller) Butler, the former of whom died in Henry county, Missouri, at the 
age of seventy-six, and the latter passed away in 1859.' The family first 
located in Huron county, Ohio, whence they went to Henry county, Missouri. 



318 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

in 1852. In 1 861 our subject enlisted in the Union army and performed 
faithful service until after the last battle at Corinth and Pittsburg Landing. 
In 1873 he came to Joplin and opened a grocery business in the new city, 
and as success attended his efforts he continued in the same line for the suc- 
ceeding fourteen years. Since that time he has Jived 011 his productive farm 
east of the city and has most successfully engaged in the cultivation of fruits. 

Mr. Butler was married to Miss Sarah Baker, who was born in Pike 
county, Missouri, her parents being among the pioneers there. Seven chil- 
dren have been born of this marriage: Henry, a resident of Texas; Mrs. 
Orilla M. Blaisdell, of Joplin; Dora, the wife of John Cochrane, of Joplin; 
John, Lulu. Minnie and Ned K. 

Mr. Butler belongs to the Democratic party, although he is not a politi- 
cian, being a man of quiet life, much absorbed in his own affairs. His social 
connection is with the Masonic order and the Ancient Order of United Work- 
men. He is a man much respected in his locality and is one of its best citizens. 

H. G. TANGNER. 

Men born in Sweden are making their marks in all parts of the United 
States. Missouri has a considerable number of Swedish residents who< are 
in every way creditable to her, and one of the best known of these in Jasper 
county is the gentleman whose name is above. 

H. G. Tangner was born in the southern part of Sweden, near the city 
of Stockholm, in June, 1862. His parents were farming people and his boy- 
hood days were spent on the home farm. He attended the common schools 
of his native land until he had attained his fifteenth year, and thus secured 
a fair primary education. He then went to Stockholm, where he learned 
the machinist's trade, and remained until 1880. In May of the year just 
mentioned Mr. Tangner came to the United States, landing in New York 
city. After remaining for a time in Brooklyn he went in turn to Buffalo*, 
New York; Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Indianapolis, Indiana; and St. Louis, 
Missouri. At St. Louis he was employed for eight months in the shops of 
a railroad company, and after that he worked at Carthage at horseshoeing for 
J. W. Miller. From Carthage he went back to- St. Louis, and thence to west- 
ern Kansas, where for six months he was employed 011 a. stock ranch. Re- 
turning to Carthage in 1885, he began farming as a member of the firm of 
Patterson & Tangner, with J. Patterson as a partner. They made a specialty 
of hay, horses and cattle. Disposing of his interest in that enterprise, he 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 319 

engaged in the livery and feed business and began to deal in horses and mules, 
which he bought and shipped to the St. Louis markets. After the outbreak 
of the Spanish- American war he sold mules to' the United States government 
for use in army transportation, and shipped many to England, where they 
were bought by the British government for army use. 

Mr. Tangner has barns especially fitted for his business, and is the owner 
of two good farms on which he pastures his stock in season. His business 
has been carried on with so much ability and success that he has an established 
trade wherever he has become known. His new stock barn occupies a ground 
space o>f seventy by two hundred feet and is arranged in departments to meet 
all requirements for assorting or separating mules preparatory to shipping. 
In the year 1900 he shipped twelve hundred horses and mules. 

In 1889 Mr. Tangner married Miss Jeanette B. Arthur, of Jasper 
county, and has an interesting family of three children. Beginning his career 
in America with absolutely nothing and working with his hands for very 
modest wages, he has developed a good capacity for business which has en- 
abled him to achieve personal success and has impressed all who know him 
with the soundness of his judgment on any business proposition. He is re- 
garded as one of the strong men of his community, morally and financially, 
.and all in all as a citizen of whom Carthage is justly proud. 

J L. M. JANES. 

One of the familiar figures and leading citizens of Carterville, Jasper 
county, Missouri, is L. M. Janes, mine owner and acting superintendent of 
the Eour Xo One Mining Company, a lease of the California Mining Com- 
pany, operating one mill on the Four to One. Mr. Janes has a one-hundred- 
ton mill and one shaft of one hundred and forty feet, with two others started. 

L. M. Janes was born in Jasper county, Indiana, and was a son of Joseph 
and Mary A. (Graves) Janes. The father was also' a native of Jasper county. 
Indiana, and came to< Kansas in 1878, locating on a farm which is now the 
property of his son. During the Civil war he served during the last two 
years in an Indiana regiment. The mother was also born in Jasper county, 
Indiana, and was there reared, educated and married. 

Mr. Tanes first came to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1899, called here to 
look after the interests of Henry M. Gilbert, who was killed at the mine explo- 
sion of the Marguerite mill on August 24, 1898. Mr. Gilbert had been a 
resident of this county for twelve years and was largely interested in mining 



320 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

property here. For twenty-one years previous Mr. Janes had followed farm- 
ing in Reno county, Kansas, and still owns property there. Since coming 
here he has become prominently identified with the industries of this locality 
and is well and favorably known. 

The marriage of Mr. Janes was to Miss Nettie Young, of Reno' county, 
Kansas, and the three children of this union bear the names of Ralph E., 
Clarence Wilbur and Ethel Irene, respectively. 

C. W. GREENLEE. 

The capable and energetic young superintendent of the H. & H. mine, on 
the Jenneth lease, east of Joplin, is C. W. Greenlee, a respected citizen of Webb 
City, who has been in this responsible position since January, 1901. Mr. 
Greenlee was born in the state of Pennsylvania, and is a son of S. W. and 
Clara (Morrison) Greenlee, the former of whom was born in Venango county, 
and the latter in Warren county, Pennsylvania. The father served in the 
army during the Civil war, later came to> Jasper county, Missouri, and for a 
time engaged in farming, but now lives retired. Mr. Greenlee, our subject, 
has three sisters in Jasper county, and his brother, Bert Greenlee, is a farmer 
in Avilla. 

When C. W. Greenlee came to Webb City, in 1883, he was but a mere 
boy. In this city he was reared and attended school, but began to> work in the 
mines while still quite young. Mining has been his life work and he has 
met with much encouragement, as he has paid close attention to every detail, 
and has thus built up a reputation for thoroughness. His work has been 
satisfactorily performed for others, and his plans for the future include large 
undertakings. Prior to his present engagement he was superintendent of 
the two June mines at Carl Junction. 

GEORGE HARDY. 

One of the most straightforward, energetic and successful business men 
of Jasper county is George Hardy, who has attained prominence in mining- 
circles. He is a son of J. Allen and Emily (Edstrom) Hardy, who make 
their home at Webb City. In 1874 George Hardy, our subject, came with 
his father to Jasper county, where he has ever since engaged in mining pur- 
suits, and his well-directed efforts and wise judgment have secured for him 
a leading position in the business circles of his locality. He is now serving 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 321 

as superintendent of the Cordell Mining Company, which is operating on the 
Porto Rico lands, and of which his father is the president and manager. 1 hree 
of his brothers, Alien. Tom and Herbert, are also interested in the company. 
Mr. Hardy has also opened up and developed many other rich and paying 
mines, among them being the Duenweg and the Jack, the last named being 
located at Lehigh. 

Mr. Hardy was united in marriage with Miss Maggie Cochran, of New- 
ton county, Missouri, and they have five children, — Clara, Margaret, George, 
Charles and Helen. Mr. Hardy has been engaged in mining operations since 
his fifteenth year, and his long connection with the development of the rich 
mineral resources of the state has made him very proficient in his chosen line 
of work. He is an upright and reliable citizen, true to all the duties of busi- 
ness and private life, and his sterling worth has gained him high regard. 

^EDGAR MALLETT. 

Nature has seemed to designate the kind of business which shall be the 
dominant industry of different localities. The great forests provide occupa- 
tion for the lumbermen, the broad plains and rich prairies make agriculture 
the logical occupation of the settlers of other regions, and the mineral resources 
of still other divisions of the country seem to indicate that mining shall be the 
chief labor of the people there. The rich ore deposits of southwestern Mis- 
souri leave no question as to the leading business pursuit of those who inhabit 
this section of the state, and one of the leading representatives of mining inter- 
ests here is Edgar Mallett, of Belleville, who was the founder of the camp 
which led to the establishment of the town. He came here in 1885 and took 
up his abode in the county two years before. 

Mr. Mallett is a native of Clark county, Missouri, and is a representative 
of one of the old families of New England, the Malletts having resided in that 
section of the country through several generations. The paternal grandfather 
of our subject was a resident of Massachusetts and served his country as a 
loyal soldier in the war of 181 2. Marvin Mallett, the father of our subject, 
removed from Ohio to Medina county, Indiana, during his early boyhood and 
afterward went to southeastern Iowa, whence he made his way to Clark county, 
Missouri, becoming one of the pioneers of that portion of the state. His wife, 
who bore the maiden name of Grace Beckwith, was a native of Ohio. 

When, in 1883. Mr. Mallett came to Jasper county he began mining at 
Lehigh, which was then enjoying a boom. Associated with others he leased 



322 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

some land on the present site of Belleville, and their enterprise had the effect 
of starting the Belleville camp upon a successful career. The lease was upon 
the Wright land, and there they opened several extensive mines, one of the 
largest being the Keystone mine. Prior to 1889 tne camp produced import- 
ant results, which drew to it a population of twenty-five hundred, including 
five hundred school children. Later, like many mining districts, Belleville 
suffered a period of depression and retrogression, and at one time the mines 
were utterly abandoned by all save our subject, who, with a strong faith in the 
future of the locality, remained. He realized the possibilities of the district 
and has lived to see his belief verified. Taking a new start, the town has 
grown, and Belleville now contains a population of one thousand. In 1885 
there was not a mine between Belleville and Joplin and there was no crusher 
at the latter place. Now there are four hundred mines in that district, many 
yielding ore in paying quantities. 

Mr. Mallett is now mining on the old Holden forty acres, which he owns, 
and in this enterprise is associated with W. B. Freeman, of Providence, Rhode 
Island. This tract has been an excellent producer, and the mining property 
of our subject is being profitably worked. He is also interested in several 
other mines, and, in partnership with Alvin Henderson, he owns and conducts 
a store, while as a partner of G. M. Morris he is the owner of a boiler-shop. 
His persistent effort and energy are now meeting with gratifying reward. 
Politically lie is a Republican., and is not without iniluence in the councils of 
his party. He is recognized as a man of much public spirit, who lias the suc- 
cess of all local interest at heart and does everything in his power to promote 
the welfare of the community. 

JAMES P. ROACH. 

The Irish element in our national commonwealth has been one of the 
most important factors in furthering the substantial and normal advancement of 
the country. Well may any person take pride in tracing his lineage to such a 
source. As one of the able and enterprising citizens whom Ireland has con- 
tributed to the United States, and as one of the prominent and progressive 
residents of Jasper county James P. Roach is worthy of distinct recognition in 
this work. 

He is a native of Kilkenny, Ireland, but when eight years of age he was 
brought to the United States, locating at Oil City, Pennsylvania, where he 
remained until his removal to Neosho, Newton county, Missouri, where his 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 325 

father, Thomas Roach, still resides on a farm. James P. Roach, of this re- 
view, has resided in Joplin for the past twenty-four years. He is now serving 
as superintendent of the John Jackson Mining Company, which position he 
has held for three years. The company operates three mines, the under- 
ground work of the John Jackson covering an area of seven hundred by sixty 
feet, while the Jack Johnson is one hundred and eighty feet long and eighty 
feet wide, and the Jim Jackson is one hundred . feet long and twenty feet 
high. Mr. Roach has opened up and developed several valuable mines, in- 
cluding the Cooper, Hollow, Galena and Belleville, and is now interested in the 
Cyclone, in Chitwood. When he began operating on this mine he used only 
hand windlasses, throwing away the zinc and using only the lead. Mr. Roach 
was also superintendent of the Cherokee mine at Webb City for five years, 
and for the same length of time was employed on the Standard Hill, at 
Belleville, with the Frye Brothers. He next spent three years at Lehigh, as 
superintendent of the Rankin mine, and for two> years held the office of 
superintendent of the old Galena, at Galena, Kansas. While filling the po- 
sition of superintendent for these various mining companies he has also pros- 
pected for himself, and his efforts have been attended with a high degree of 
success. 

Mr. Roach first married Amanda L. Johnson, a daughter of John R. John- 
son, of Prosperity, Missouri, by whom four children were born : Maggie, 
Thomas, Claude and Arthur. His first wife died in 1893 an< ^ m ^94 he was 
united in marriage with Miss May Haskell, a daughter of M. L. Haskell, a 
hardware merchant of Belleville, where he has been engaged in business for 
ten years. Unto this union has been born two children, — Mathew and Hugh. 
Mr. Roach exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures 
of the Republican party, and in his social relations he has been a member of 
the Ancient Order of United Workmen for sixteen years. He is a man whose 
reliability and integrity are beyond question, and he merits the respect and 
esteem which are so universally accorded him in the community where he lives 
and in whose advancement he maintains a lively interest. 

v ' THOMAS C. CLARY. 

The pleasant and attractive home of Thomas C. Clary on East Seventh 
street, Joplin, is the visible evidence of his active and well-spent life. From 
an early age he has depended upon his own resources, and whatever success 
he has achieved has been the direct reward of his energy and capable manage- 



326 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

merit. For a number of years he was connected with railroad service in the 
west, but is now interested in mining in the vicinity of Joplin, where he has 
resided for the past decade. 

Mr. Clary is a native of the Badger state, his birth having occurred in 
Waukesha county. He is a son of James and Catherine (Caton) Clary, both 
of whom were natives of Ireland, in which country their marriage was cele- 
brated. In 1825 they left the Green Isle oi Erin and sailed across the Atlantic 
to the new world. For some time they resided in Lewis county, New York, 
and subsequently removed to Wisconsin, locating in Waukesha county in 1833. 
long before the admission of the state into the Union. They were numbered 
among its pioneer settlers and aided in reclaiming the wild region for pur- 
poses of civilization. 

Under the parental roof Mr. Clary, of this review, spent his childhood 
days, obtaining his education in the schools near his home, and assisting in the 
labors of the farm through the summer months. He was seventeen years of 
age when, in 1863, iie responded to the president's call for troops to continue 
the war, enlisting in the Nineteenth Wisconsin Infantry, which was assigned 
to General Sherman's command. He saw service throughout Tennessee, 
Georgia and Mississippi and took part in all the battles in which his com- 
mand was engaged. Although so young, he was fearless and true, and on 
many a field of battle manifested courage equal to that of many a veteran 
of twice his years. 

Not long after the war Mr. Clary entered the railroad service, securing 
a situation on the construction of the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf road in 
1869, aiding to> built that line out of Kansas City. He remained with the 
same company until 1886, and during much of that period served as engineer. 
His faithfulness is indicated by the fact that he was continuously in the em- 
ploy of the corporation for seventeen years. In 1890 he came to Joplin and 
has since been interested in mining in this locality, having made judicious in- 
vestments in mining property. He opened the Boston mine, which he after- 
ward sold at a good profit, for fifteen thousand dollars. He also opened the 
Janet mine on the McKibbin land, which he later disposed of, receiving a good 
financial return on his investment. During the last six months he has de- 
voted his energies toward the opening of a mine on the Granby land at Possum 
Hollow. It is a big mine with two shafts, each one hundred and fifty feet deep. 

Mr. Clary was united in marriage to Miss Annie Flannery, of Lee Sum- 
mit, Jackson county, Missouri, a daughter of James Flannery, who was 
born in Virginia and bcame one of the first settlers of Jackson county, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 327 

•where he entered land from the government and became a leading 
and influential citizen there. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Clary have been born 
three sons, James, Frank and Joseph. Frank is now married and re- 
sides at Villa Heights and has two daughters — Marie and Myrtle. In 
politics Mr. Clary is a pronounced Republican, unswerving in his advocacy 
of the principles of the party. While residing in Kansas City he took a very 
prominent part in politics and filled the office of superintendent of the work- 
house for four years, He was also elected constable of Kaw township, em- 
bracing all of Kansas City and suburbs — one of the best offices within the gift 
of the city. He was twice candidate for sheriff' of Jackson county, which em- 
braces Kansas City. Socially he is connected with McPherson Post, No. 4. 
G. A. ]\., of Kansas City. FTe now owns fifty acres of land adjoining the 
city limits on the east. It is a beautiful place, known as Highland Park, hav- 
ing many natural advantages as weH as modern improvements. Surrounded 
at his home by a circle of friends win. appreciate his true worth, and esteemed 
by the people of the community, he is \sidely known as a man who has acted 
well his part and has lived a worthy and honorable life. 

V G. L. SANSOM. 

Prominent among the miners at Joplin who rani among what may be 
termed pioneers in that interest is the subject of this sketch, a native of Jersey 
county, Illinois, and a son of J. Wl and Adaline (Daugherty) Sansom. His 
father was a pioneer in Jersey county, removing there from Pennsvlvania, and 
his mother emigrated to that locality from Mississippi, and they were mar- 
ried there. 

Mr. Sansom has been a resident of Joplin, Missouri, since 1873, and has 
continuously engaged in mining. He has opened several important mines, 
among them the Eagle, at Belleville, the old Brush mine, north of Joplin, on 
the Grandby land, and other well-known mining properties. He is now de- 
veloping the Owl mine, which he opened in 1900, and of which he is superin- 
tendent. The mine has two shafts which have been sunk to the depth of one 
hundred and sixty feet, and is equipped with a one-hundred-ton mill of first- 
class construction. Mr. Sansom has given his attention exclusively to mining 
and has achieved an enviable success. 

Mr. Sansom married Miss Emma Simpson, also a native of Jersey county, 
Illinois, and they have two sons and three daughters. Their son, F. W. San- 
som, a graduate of the Joplin high school, is studying civil engineering at the 



.328 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Missouri State University. The others are Alta M., Lula, Cora and Fred D. 
Mr. Sansom is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and 
politically affiliates with the Republican party, in the councils and work of 
which he is active and influential. As a citizen he is esteemed for his public 
spirit and his helpfulness toward all worthy measures. 

DANIEL M. SHAW. 

Daniel M. Shaw is a man much respected in agricultural circles and one 
who, by strict morality and integrity of purpose, furnishes an excellent example 
to others. He is at present engaged in farming in Jasper county, where he 
conducts a highly improved property on section 16, Mineral township. 

Mr. Shaw is a native of Highland county, Ohio, his birth having oc- 
curred on the 4th of August, 1844. His father, Smith Shaw, was also a na- 
tive of the Buckeye state, and there devoted his energies to the work of the 
farm. The grandfather of our subject, James Shaw, claimed New Jersey as 
the state of his nativity and was of Scotch descent. He, too, followed the 
tilling of the soil. As a companion for the journey of life Smith Shaw chose 
Lydia Marlatt, a native of Ohio, and her father, Joseph Marlatt, was born in 
the Keystone state and was of German descent. 

D. M. Shaw, the fifth in order of birth of their twelve children, was 
reared to manhood in the county of his nativity, and there received the edu- 
cational advantages afforded by the common schools. At the outbreak of the 
Civil war he promptly responded to the call of his country, entering Com- 
pany I, Thirty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as a private. After about six- 
teen months' service he received an honorable discharge on account of disa- 
bility, but on regaining his health he again entered the service, as a member 
of Company B, First Ohio Heavy Artillery, in which he served for over two 
years. Mr. Shaw served his country with honor and distinction from the 4th 
of July, 1 861, until the close of hostilities, in 1865, when peace was declared 
and the country no longer needed his services. Returning to his home in 
Highland county, Ohio, he there followed farming until 1868, when he re- 
moved to Johnson county, Kansas. His next location was in Butler county, 
Kansas, which remained his place of abode until his removal to Jasper county, 
Missouri. After his arrival in this state he took charge of the P. E. Hannum 
farm of four hundred and sixty acres, on which he has ever since remained, 
and there he is engaged in farming and stock-raising on a large scale. 

In 1870, in Johnson county, Kansas, occurred the marriage of Mr. Shaw 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 3^9 

and Miss Mary E. Van Pelt, who was born and reared in Highland county, 
Ohio. This union has been blessed with six children, namely: Charles; 
Hiram E. ; Cora Alice, the wife of Melvin Haizlip, of Jasper county; Mary C, 
the wife of John Burnside, of Alba ; Philip C. and Lewis S., at home. Hiram 
E., the second child, married Lillian Hodson and resides in Colorado. They 
had four children, but the youngest, Alice, is deceased. The living are Elsa, 
Fred and Olive. In political matters Mr. Shaw formerly upheld Republican 
principles, but he is now a supporter of the Democracy and is a strong admirer 
of Bryan. His first presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln. For 
many years he affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church, but is now a 
member of the Friends society. 

V WILLIAM W. McNEILL. 

William W. McNeill, deceased, was a prominent and influential business 
man of Jasper county. No> name stands more properly placed in the history of 
the locality than his, for he was not only one of its progressive business men, 
but was of such a social, genial nature that he made many friends. A native of 
Ross county, Ohio, he first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 24th of 
August, 1833. His father, John McNeill, was also born in the Buckeye state, 
and was of Scotch descent. By occupation he was a tiller of the soil, and his 
entire life was spent in his native state. 

William W. McNeill, the second in order of birth of his three children, 
two sons and one daughter, received his education in the schools of South 
Salem, and after completing his studies he again entered the schoolroom as 
an instructor, following that profession for a number of years. In 1858 he 
crossed the plains to California, spending seven years in the Golden state, 
where he followed mining with good success. Returning by the way of 
Panama to New York City, he then made his way to his old home in Ohio, 
where he was engaged in the work of the farm until 1867, the year of his 
arrival in Jasper county, Missouri. Mr. McNeill afterward returned to 
Ohio, where he was married, and in 1868 brought his wife to this state, lo- 
cating on the farm where his widow still resides. During seven y ears of his 
residence here he was engaged in the lead refining business in Joplin. In 
political matters he casts his vote in favor of the men and measures of the 
Republican party. Although a member of no religious denomination, he 
contributed liberally of his time and means to the work of the church, and the 
cause of religion and temperance ever found in him a warm friend. 



330 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Mr. McNeill married Miss Roxie Carr, who was born in Gallia county, 
Ohio, October 16, 1844. Her father, Alfred Carr, was a native of Connecti- 
cut, but became an early pioneer of Ohio, his death occurring- in Athens 
county, that state, when seventy-seven years of age. He followed farming as 
a life occupation. George Carr, the paternal grandfather of Mrs. McNeill, 
was a native of England, and after coming- to America he served as a Revo- 
lutionary soldier under Washington. The mother of Mrs. McNeill, who 
was in her maidenhood Miss Mary Liston, was a native of Wheeling, West 
Virginia, and was a daughter of Rev. Ebenezer Liston, of Pennsylvania-Ger- 
man descent. He was reared in the Quaker faith, but afterward became a 
minister in the Methodist Episcopal church. Alfred and Mary (Li'ston) Carr 
became the parents of seven children, four sons and three daughters, six of 
whom grew to years of maturity, Mrs. McNeill being the third child and 
second daughter. She was reared in Athens county, Ohio, and received her 
education in Mount Auburn College, in which institution she was graduated in 
1861. 

Mr. and Mrs. McNeill became the parents of two children : Mary 
Mayne, the wife of Clarence Leech, of Webb City ; and Anna Belle, the wife 
of Harvey Dixon, who resides on a farm adjoining the old McNeill home- 
stead. Mr. McNeill became the owner of one hundred and forty acres of 
land, which is now operated by his widow, and she also owns property in 
Webb City and Joplin. He was called to his final rest on the 6th of May, 
1899. Thus passed from earth one who had ever been a power for good 
in his community, and his death was mourned by a large circle of acquaint- 
ances and friends. His path was ever upward, both in a spiritual and temporal 
sense, and he so conducted all his affairs as to merit the esteem of all classes 
of citizens, no word of reproach ever being uttered against him. 

SAMUEL RAMSAY. 

There are many of the native sons of Tennessee among the prominent 
business men of Missouri, especially in the mining districts of that state. Of 
this class is Samuel Ramsay, who since 1897 has filled the office of postmaster 
at Cagle, under appointment of President McKinley. Mr. Ramsay came to 
Missouri in 1869 and located at Newtonia, where he remained until 1871, 
when ore was discovered in Joplin, Jasper county. He then began mining 
and prospecting and opened some good mines in the Kansas City bottom. 
After that he mined at Springfield, Aurora, Granby and other points until 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 331 

1896, when he returned to Joplin, whence he removed to Central City, where 
he engaged in a general merchandise business, and, as stated, became post- 
master. 

In 1863 ^ Ir - Ramsay enlisted in the First Arkansas Cavalry, with which 
he served until the close of the war. Then scarcely more than fifteen years 
old, he entered upon arduous duty, which took him over the greater part of 
Arkansas and Missouri. He is a member of the Aurora Post of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, and is a charter member of the Grand Army Post 
at Joplin. He is also a member of the Improved Order of Red Men and of the 
Junior Order of American Mechanics. Politically he is a Republican. 

Mr. Ramsay was married February 12, 1866, to Ellen Lee, and they have 
children as follows : Mila, Charles, Fred. Ella, Maggie, and Vonia, deceased. 



J 



W. H. ROPER, M. D. 



From no professional man do we expect or exact so many of the cardinal 
virtues as from the physician. If the clergyman is austere we imagine that 
his mind is absorbed with the contemplation of things beyond our ken ; if our 
lawyer is brusque and crabbed it is the mark of genius ; but in the physician we 
expect not only a superior mentality and comprehensive knowledge, but sym- 
pathy as wide as the universe. Dr. Roper in large measure meets all of these 
requirements and is regarded by many as an ideal physician. He is indeed the 
loved family physician in many a household, and the value of his service can- 
not be over-estimated. 

The Doctor claims Illinois as the state of his nativity, his birth having 
occurred on the 27th of June, 1853. His paternal grandfather, Henry C. 
Roper, was a native of the Old Dominion, born in Jamestown, and his 
mother was in her maidenhood a Miss Jackson, a cousin of General Jackson. 
Mr. Roper died in the southwestern part of Missouri, to which place he had re- 
moved in 1867, passing away in 1883, at the age of eighty-four years. His 
wife, nee Nancy Lewis, was also a native of Virginia, born in 1797, and 
her death occurred in southwestern Missouri, in 1885. Their son, George M. 
Roper, the father of our subject, was born in Trigg county, Kentucky, in 
1830, and his educational privileges- were those afforded by the common 
schools. He was united in marriage with Mary Jones, who was born in 
Tennessee, in 1832, a daughter of William Jones, a native of the same state. 
Both he and his wife died near Alton, Illinois. They were the parents of 
seven sons and one daughter, and all are still living. 



332 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Dr. Roper, the eldest of the family, received his education in the Pierce 
City high school, in which he was graduated in 1875, and in Drury College, 
attending in the year 1876. The profession of medicine had great attraction 
for our subject and he decided to make its practice his life work, accordingly 
entering the American College, of St. Louis, in 1878, where he completed 
three courses and graduated in 1881. He then entered upon the practice 
of medicine, and as the years have passed his patronage has steadily and 
constantly increased. In 1900 and also in 1901 the Doctor took a post-grad- 
uate course in the Chicago Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital at 
Chicago, Illinois. He makes a specialty of the diseases of women, and in 
this branch of the profession he has won an enviable reputation. The 
Doctor also owns forty acres of fine farming land, most of which lies within 
the corporate limits of Sarcoxie. 

The marriage of Dr. Roper occurred in December, 1877, when Miss 
Loretta C. Rusk became his wife. She is the only daughter of Judge W. H. 
Rusk, one of the most prominent citizens of Jasper county. This union has 
been blessed with five children, namely : Pearl R., the wife of Dr. Z. T. 
Goolsby, of Enloe, Texas; Littleton H., a drug clerk of Sarcoxie; Will H., 
who manages his father's farm; and Celesta R. and Caroline R., at home. 
Mrs. Roper is a consistent member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. 
In his social relations the Doctor is a member of the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, which he joined in 1884, and is also a member of the Modern 
Woodmen of America. The cause of education has ever found in him a warm 
friend, and for twelve years he served as a member of the school board. In his 
professional labors Dr. Roper has met with a high degree of success. As a 
man and citizen he enjoys the added popularity which comes to those genial 
spirits who' have a hearty shake of the hand for all those with whom they 
come in contact from day to day and who seem to throw around them so 
much of the sunshine of life. 



j 



JERRY CLARK. 



Jerry Clark, a leading and influential citizen of Webb City, connected 
with the mining interests of Jasper county, was born near Huntsville, Madi- 
son county, Arkansas, on the 2d of March, 1849, his parents being Thomas 
and Nancy (Combs) Clark. He is a representative of one of the old families 
of North Carolina, his grandparents, William and Nancy (Rhoades) Clark, 
both being natives of that state. The latter's mother lived to a very ad- 




JERRY CLARK. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 335 

vanced age, for when last heard from, in 1874, she had passed the one hun- 
dred and eighth milestone on the journey of life. Thomas Clark, the father 
of our subject, was born in McMinn county, Tennessee, in 1809, and was 
a farmer by occupation. He served as justice of the peace and as a member 
of the school board and was regarded as one of the representative citizens of 
his community. He married Nancy Combs, who was born in North Carolina 
in 1 81 2. They had twelve children and at the time of their death had one 
hundred and forty grandchildren, besides great-grandchildren and great-great- 
grandchildren. All of the twelve children are still living and the youngest 
is now forty-seven years of age. They are : Mrs. Elizabeth Johnston, who 
has twelve children ; Monroe, who has four children ; Mrs. Virginia Inman, 
who has four children ; Mrs. Lavina Flay, who had three children ; Mrs. 
Tennessee Inman, who has four children ; Jasper, who has two children ; 
Mrs. Charity Fly, who has five children ; James, who also has five children ; 
Jehu, whose family numbers two children ; Jerry, who has had two children ;Lee 
C. and Thomas C, each of whom has one child. This family record is 
certainly a remarkable one, both for its numerical strength and longevity. 

In the common schools of Barry county, Missouri, Jerry Clark pursued 
his early education and later he spent one year — 1868 — as a student in a 
private school in Berryville, Arkansas, under the direction of Isaac A. Clark. 
Subsequently he engaged in teaching school for one year and then went to 
Texas, where he devoted his attention to general farming and the raising 
of cotton. Later he located in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he remained for 
a year, and in 1871 he came to Jasper county, where he has since been identified! 
with mining interests. He began mining on the Granby land and now owns a 
third interest in the Maud B. mine and a half interest in the Mosley mine. 
During the last ten weeks of steady run the company cleared about eighteen 
thousand dollars from the Maud B. mine. 

On the 27th of November, 1873, Mr. Clark was united in marriage to 
Miss Elizabeth R. Jones, who was born in Tennessee, in 185 1, a daughter 
of William lones. They have two children : John Thomas, who died at the 
age of six months, and Roxie May, who was born March 17, 1876. She 
was educated in the public schools of Webb City, also spent one year at the 
Pierce City Baptist College, and is now the wife of R. M. Jones, a druggist 
located at Lawton, Oklahoma. In their religious affiliations Mr. Clark and his 
wife are Missionary Baptists, belonging to the church of that denomination 
in Webb City, where they make their home and where they have many warm 
friends. In his political views he is a Democrat and while he always exercises 

18 



336 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the party, he has 
never sought office, preferring to devote his time and attention to his business 
interests, in which he has met with creditable success. The genuine worth 
of his character commends him to the confidence and good will of all with 
whom he is associated. 

V JOSEPH W. BAKER. 

This gentleman, who is a prominent citizen and farmer of Jasper county, 
and whose successful career should encourage in well doing any young man 
who reads this, was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, a son of Harrison 
and Eleanor (Bowles) Baker. Isaac Baker, father of Harrison Baker and the 
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Virginia of German 
parents. The father, who was a native of Kentucky, removed early to Illi- 
nois and lived near Springfield when that now flourishing state capital was 
a place of comparative insignificance. He remained there until 1868, when 
he went to Barton county, Missouri, where he died at the age of sixty-three 
years. He was a devout member and active worker in the Christian church, 
and in politics was a Republican. His wife, Eleanor Bowles, also of German 
parentage, was born in Kentucky and died when about fifty-nine years old. 
Harrison and Eleanor (Bowles) Baker had eleven children, eight sons and 
three daughters, nine of whom grew to manhood and- womanhood. 

Of these the subject of this sketch, who was the fourth son, was the 
sixth in order of birth. He was reared and educated in Sangamon county, 
Illinois, and in 1861 he enlisted in Company D, Thirty-third Regiment, Illi- 
nois Volunteer Infantry, in which he served by re-enlistment until 1865. He 
fought at Magnolia Hill, Jackson, Mississippi, Champion Hills, Pine Ridge 
and in other leading engagements, and participated in several important cam- 
paigns, but sustained no wounds. His company entered upon the siege of 
Vicksburg with thirty-two able-bodied men, only eight of whom came out of 
the fighting there unscathed. He was honorably discharged at Camp Butler, 
Illinois, December 24, 1865, after four years' service. 

Mr. Baker returned to Springfield, in that state, and engaged in farming. 
January 3, 1867, he married Clara A. Baker, daughter of John and Clara 
(Patterson) Baker, who was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, March 23, 
1850. Her father was a native of Kentucky, and her mother a native of Ohio, 
and among the early settlers of Sangamon county, Illinois, they were num- 
bered. Mr. and Mrs. Baker have three children : Herbert H., who married 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 337 

Miss Minnie H. Hanes, daughter of Charles and Mary Hanes; Ruth; and 
Snowden, who married Miss Sarah Bowers. 

In 1867 Mr. Baker located on a farm in Barton county, Missouri, and ten 
years later he removed to Carthage, Jasper county, Missouri, where for about 
three years he was manager of a transfer business. In the meantime he 
bought a farm in Duvall township, and after a year's residence there he ex- 
changed it for the farm on which he now lives. In 1885 he went to Kansas 
and took up homestead land and remained long enough to prove it up, then 
returned to his Missouri home, — a fine farm of one hundred and fifty-six 
acres, — where he devoted himself successfully to general farming. Mr. Baker 
is a member of Stephen Decatur Post, No. 142, Grand Army of the Republic, 
in which he has held several offices, including those of commander, quarter- 
master and adjutant. He is also a member of the Masonic order. 

JOSEPH E. COBB. 

Among the well-known citizens of Oronogo is Joseph E. Cobb, the pop- 
ular and talented editor of the Oronogo Eagle. His birth occurred in Col- 
chester, England, February 29, 1844, and he was a son of James and Mary 
Ann (Raynor) Cobb. James Cobb was a merchant in Colchester and lived 
to be eighty-seven years old, and his wife lived until her eighty-third year. 
They had a family of five daughters and four sons, our subject being the 
youngest. 

Joseph E. Cobb was reared in his native place and was educated in the 
Quaker schools of his neighborhood. At the age of fourteen he began to 
learn the printing business, and served an apprenticeship of seven years. 
After completing his term he worked in various establishments, one being 
located at Aldershott, the great camp for the English military training of 
officers. In 1872 he came to New York, where he remained for five years, 
and in 1877 started west. In Indianapolis, Indiana, he worked on the Journal 
of that city and also the Times, both in the reportorial and editorial de- 
partments, and was associated with E. W. Halford, who later became private 
secretary to President Harrison. When Mr. Harrison was engaged in his 
campaign, our subject was the only member of the Journal staff friendly to 
him. In 1886 Mr. Cobb went to Kansas City, where he was engaged on the 
Star and was special writer for one year on that well-known journal, also 
being telegraph editor. In 1887 he returned to England on a holiday trip of 
several months and on his return organized the great Gillmore concert course 



333 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

and conducted it for two years, in which some five hundred singers were con- 
cerned. He was associated with W. H. Gillmore, of Joplin, and Professor 
John Behr, of Kansas City. He has been prominently identified at various 
times with many of the leading journals of the country, among these the 
Went worth Mining Journal and later the Oronogo Eagle. He is a man 
of great talent and wide and varied experience, one whose reading has been 
thorough and his travel extensive. While in Springfield he organized the 
Springfield mining bureau, which furnished the first reliable news of the 
mineral wealth of southwestern Missouri. 

Mr. Cobb was married in 1872 to Miss Anna Fletcher. Ever since 
locating in America and becoming acquainted with the issues before the people 
of the United States, he has been an ardent Republican and has been of much 
use to his party. He cast his vote, as an American citizen, for President 
Garfield. 

CHARLES E. HART. 

Of recent years mining has become the principal industry in Jasper 
county and the development of the rich mineral resources near Joplin has 
been the most potent factor in the city's growth and upbuilding. Prominently 
connected with this branch of activity is Charles E. Hart, the efficient super- 
intendent of the John Jackson mine, of Joplin, the largest producer in this 
district. He accepted the position in 1898, and has since remained in control, 
capably directing the work in its various departments. 

Mr. Hart is a native of New York City, and his father, W. H. Hart, is 
still engaged in business there. The son attended the public schools and after- 
ward pursued a course in electrical engineering in the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology, where he was a student in the year 1884 and 1885. His 
life work has always been along this and kindred lines and he has been prom- 
inently connected with mechanical constructing and electrical engineering in a 
number of places. He installed the plant of the Toledo Traction Company 
and erected a power plant there for the street car and electric light com- 
panies. He also was connected with mining interests in the western states 
and was active in the development of Mexican mines. 

In the year 1888 Mr. Hart came to Joplin and built a very large dam for 
the electric light company, after which he became the superintendent for the 
company and had charge of the construction and equipment of the plant. 
He remained in that position until 1892. In 1898 he accepted the superin- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 339 

tendency of the Jackson mine, of Joplin, which is the largest producer in this 
district, its annual output being very extensive. His previous experience in 
electrical engineering and mining operation well fitted him for the position 
and in the discharge of his duties and as superintendent his efforts have been 
extremely satisfactory to the company which he represents. 

Mr. Hart married Miss Ida Pabst, daughter of the late J. B. Pabst, a 
wholesale hardware merchant of Joplin, who carried on business here for 
many years. He came to this city in 1876, was a prominent and well-known 
merchant and died in 1888. A native of France, on crossing the Atlantic he 
first took up his abode in Kansas City, and thence made his way to Jasper 
county. 

GEORGE C. NORSWORTHY. 

It has been the discovery of the rich mineral deposits that has led to< the 
development of this section of the state, and among those who have been 
prominent in promoting the mining interests of Missouri is George C. Nors- 
worthy. He is a native of western Tennessee. In 1872 he came to Missouri, 
casting in his lot with the settlers of Jasper county, where he is now recognized 
as one of the leading mine operators of his locality. Under the name of the 
Norsworthy Company he has opened up and developed many of the most val- 
uable mines to be found in this section of the country. He was associated 
in business with Porter & Stilwell until 1897. He then, in company with 
N. H. Kelso, opened a mine to the extent of one hundred and sixty feet, capa- 
ble of fifty tons per week. It is located on the land of the Missouri Lead & 
Zinc Company, and is a very profitable and paying property. The company 
has made judicious and extensive investments in mines, has operated a num- 
ber successfully, has sold others at good profits and still has valuable mining 
property in the vicinity of Joplin. 

For a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Norsworthy 
chose Miss Melinda J. Wilson, a native of northeastern Arkansas. They 
had seven children, namely: James O., John T. and R. E. Lee, who are en- 
gaged in business with their father; W. E., Grover Cleveland, Louis L. and 
Pearl, who completes the family. The mother died December 25, 1896. He 
then married her sister, S avail ah, by whom two children, George Dewey and 
Nora L., have been born. The family are among the esteemed and highly 
respected residents of Rex City, where they have won many friends. In 
1879 Mr. Norsworthy served as marshal of Galena, Kansas, and he per- 



34Q BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

formed the duties of that office with promptness and fidelity- He has a wide 
acquaintance throughout this portion of the county, especially in mining cir- 
cles, and the success which has attended his efforts is the outcome of unfal- 
tering energy and close attention to business. 

JUDGE W. H. RUSK. 

There are few men whose lives are crowned with the honor and respect 
which is universally accorded to Judge W. H. Rusk, but through many years' 
connection with Missouri's history his has been an unblemished character. 
With him success in life has been reached by his sterling qualities of mind and 
a heart true to every manly principle. He has never deviated from what his 
judgment would indicate to be right and honorable between his fellow men 
and himself, and after a long and eventful career he can look back over the 
past with pride and enjoy the remaining years of his earthly pilgrimage with 
a consciousness of having gained for himself, by his honorable, straightfor- 
ward career, the confidence and respect of the entire community in which he 
lives. 

Judge Rusk was born in the Old Dominion on the 27th of May, 181 5, 
a son of Benjamin D. and Mary (Moore) Rusk. In 1828 the father removed 
to Springfield. Illinois, where he passed his remaining days. His wife died 
previous to his removal to that state, and he was afterward again married, 
which event also occurred before his removal to Illinois. In early life he was 
engaged in the newspaper business, but later became a farmer. The son, 
\Y. H., accompanied his father on his removal to Springfield, Illinois, and 
after his marriage, in 1840, he removed to Schuyler county, Missouri. Sub- 
sequent to the Civil war he came to Jasper county, where he followed farming 
and stock-raising, having brought the first fine stock into the county. 

The Judge has always taken an active part in politics, and for twenty- 
two years he held the office of justice of the peace. He was then made county 
judge, having served with Judges McGregor, Green and others, and that court 
established the first school commissioner of Jasper county, which was also the 
first in the state. They separated the sheriff and collector's offices and the 
county clerk and recorder's offices, and established the township as it now 
exists. Our subject, indeed, proved a capable judge, — one whose adminis- 
tration of justice was marked by purity and uprightness, by sincere courtesy 
and the most thorough fairness. The influence of his deeds will live forever. 

The Judge has also proved himself a gallant and intrepid soldier. He 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY. 341 

was one of John C. Fremont's explorers, and during the Mexican war served 
in the First Missouri Cavalry, under A. W. Donaphan. They were sent to 
Monterey, and he was with General Taylor until the war closed. During the 
Civil war Judge Rusk was a strong Union man, and in 1862 he enlisted in 
the cavalry service, remaining a loyal soldier until hostilities had ceased and 
peace was again declared. During his service he was stationed principally 
in Monroe county, Missouri, with the exception of ahout five months spent in 
Lafayette county. 

The Judge was married in Springfield, Illinois, in 1839, to Martha J. 
Conkling, a second cousin of the great Roscoe Conkling. Although they had 
no children of their own, Air. and Mrs. Rusk reared seven orphan children, 
one of whom, Loretta C, they adopted. She is now the wife of Dr. Roper,' 
of Jasper county. Mrs. Rusk was called to her home beyond in 1893, and 
her death was the cause of wide-spread regret, for she had ever lived a true 
and nohle life. In his social relations the Judge is a prominent member of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and at the opening of the Civil war he 
was serving as deputy grand master for the state of Missouri. In all the 
relations of life Judge Rusk has been true and loyal to duty, and he holds 
distinctive precedence as an eminent judge, a man of high scientific and literary 
attainments, a valiant and patriotic soldier and a worthy and representative 
citizen. A strong mentality, an invincible courage, a most determined indi- 
viduality have so entered into his makeup as to render him a natural leader 
of men and a director of opinion. 

A. E. BOQUA. 

Among the representative business men of Joplin is A. E. Boqua. who 
has aided m developing the natural resources of southwestern Missouri, and 
thus materially advanced the general prosperity while promoting his individual 
success. He is now superintendent, treasurer and secretary of the Boqua 
Mining Company, which owns and operates some good mining property near 
Joplm, at the end of Third street. Perhaps no other industry has contributed 
so largely to the wealth of Jasper county as its mining interests, and in con- 
trol of these are men of marked business ability, in which class is numbered 
the subject of this review. 

Mr. Boqua is a native of Alton, Illinois, and a son of Andrew Boqua, 
who was born in this state, the family having been founded here at an early 
day in the period of its development. In his native city our subject pursued 



342 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

his education, but came from Memphis, Tennessee, to Joplin in the year 1897. 
Although his stay here has been of comparatively short duration, the period 
has been ample in which to demonstrate his business ability and indefatigable 
energy. He organized the Boqua Mining Company, which has a good prop- 
erty adjoining the city. The latest improved machinery has been secured for 
working the mine, and its yield is large and profitable. Mr. Boqua person- 
ally superintends the business of the company, acts as secretary and treasurer 
and is a member of the board of directors. He also established the Rock 
City Coal Company, but later sold the business. 

Mr. Boqua was united in marriage, May 11, 1882, to Miss Elizabeth F. 
Russell, a native of Ashland, Boone county, Missouri, and a daughter of John 
Russell. Their union has been blessed with one son, A. E. Boqua, who was 
born February 12, 1883, in Ferguson, Missouri. In fraternal circles Mr. 
Boqua is prominent. He has taken the degrees of the blue lodge, chapter, 
council and commandery in the Masonic fraternity, and also belongs to the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is likewise a valued representative 
of the Joplin Club and is chairman of its railway committee. His manner is 
courteous, his disposition genial, and wherever he goes he wins friends. 

CHARLES M. DeGRAFF. 

Though no land is richer in opportunities or offers greater advantages 
to its citizens than America, success is not to be obtained through desire, but 
must be persistently sought. In America "labor is king" and the man who 
resolutely sets to work to accomplish a purpose is certain of success if he 
has but the qualities of perseverance, untiring energy and practical common 
sense. Charles M. DeGraff, the president of the Citizens' State Bank, of 
Joplin, is one whose career excites the admiration and gains the respect of 
all, for through his diligence and persistent purpose he has won a leading 
place in financial circles in Jasper county.. 

A native of Minnesota, he was born in Olmsted county, October 1, 1859, 
his parents being James and Matilda (Grigsby) DeGraff. In early life his 
father learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for a short period 
and later engaged in mining and farming. At the time of his death he was 
devoting his energies to agricultural pursuits. He died in San Francisco, 
California, December 11, 1872, at the age of sixty-seven years, his birth having 
occurred October 19, 1805. He was twice married, his second wife being the 
mother of our subject. There are no living children of the first marriage, 




CHARLES M. DE GRAFF. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 345 

and those born unto James and Matilda DeGraff who are still living are : 
Oscar, born March 15, 1846; Abner, born January 28, 1848; James F., born 
December 9, 1850; Mary E., born September 8, 1856; and Charles M. One 
son, Alvah, born September 15, 1852, died April 15, 1877. The mother 
died September 29, 1875. Both parents were good Christian people and 
though not members of any religious organization were close adherents of the 
golden rule. The father became a Mason while residing in Minnesota. 

Charles M. DeGraff pursued his education in the public schools of Min- 
nesota and of Christian county, Missouri, to which place he had accompanied 
his parents when a small boy. At the age of thirteen he left home and went 
to Elkhart, Logan county, Illinois, where he pursued his educalion for three 
months. For about a year he remained in that state and then went to Min- 
nesota, where he also attended school for three months. Putting aside his text 
books he entered the service of the Minnesota Railroad Company as brake- 
man and followed railroading and farming until eighteen years of age, when 
he came to Missouri, since which date he has devoted more or less attention 
to mining. He spent one year in Colorado, where he was shift foreman in the 
Alpine tunnel, and he also worked in Galena, Kansas. 

In 1 88 1 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. DeGraff and Miss Mary 
E. Kidder, a daughter of George Kidder, of Republic county, Kansas. Seven 
children have blessed their home: William H., born in Galena, Kansas, 
August 28, 1882; Charles F., born in Lehigh May 29, 1884; Bertie M., born in 
Belleville, Jasper county, March 13, 1887; Robert B., born in Belleville, De- 
cember 23, 1888; Thomas J., born in Belleville, April 7, 1892; Emma A., 
born in Belleville, November 7, 1893; and Myrtle K., born in Joplin, Feb- 
ruary 28, 1898. 

During the summer of 1895 Mr. DeGraff and his brother Oscar engaged 
in mining on their own account, opening up the North Empire mine, also 
a mining property known as the DeGraff Brothers mine. These lay side 
by side and were two of the most paying properties in that district, both giving 
a phenomenal yield. In four weeks the North Empire turned out zinc and 
lead to the value of fifty-five thousand dollars, and since the 1st of June, 
1895, these mines have turned out ore to the value of twenty-two hundred 
thousand dollars, paying the land owner. Patrick Murphy, from August, 1895, 
to December, 1897, over one hundred thousand dollars on a ten per cent 
royalty. Mr. DeGraff retained the position of superintendent in both com- 
panies for four months at a salary of one hundred and fifty dollars per month 
for each mine. 



346 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Since severing his connection with mining interests Mr. DeGraff has 
invested his money in government bonds and real estate, and has also be- 
come an important factor in financial circles of Jasper county. On the 4th 
of February, 1901, he organized the Citizens' State Bank, capitalized for 
twenty-five thousand dollars. Connected with the institution are some of the 
best known and most reliable residents of this portion of the state. The 
officers are: C. M. DeGraff, president; F. T. Snapp, cashier; and J. W. Free- 
man, vice-president ; while in addition to these the following named are upon 
the board of directors : C. S. Poole, R. A. Loomis, E. P. Barr and W. H. 
Warren. All of these gentlemen are stockholders and other prominent persons 
who own stock in the bank and add to its reliability are : Charles Schiffer- 
decker, W. J. J. Lefren, Galen Spencer, J. H. Dangerfield, Fred Duffelmeyer, 
Guv R. Davis, J. W. King, John S. Long, John B. Serage, W. E. Hamm, 
Alfred Reynolds, A. F. Donnan, O. B. Davison, John George, Marion Staples, 
W. H. Fairbanks, L. A. Fillmore, W. S. Crane, J. T. Owen, Frank D. Jones, 
E. W. Jones, F. H. Warren, John H. Stephens, Dennis McCarthy, J. C. 
Warren, G. W. Koehler, Z. H. Lowdermilk, Elizabeth A. Amsden, G. T. 
Warren, Allen Dixon and G. W. Burgess. Such a list is sufficient evidence 
of the standing of the bank, which, under the able management of Mr. De- 
Graff, has already secured a good patronage and is doing a creditable banking 
business. He is also one of the stockholders and a director in the First Na- 
tional Bank, of Joplin. 

Mr. DeGraff is a member of the Business Men's Club and one of the 
leading representatives of financial and industrial interests in the county. He 

belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and in his political be- 
lief is a stalwart Republican. Since the 1st of July, 1901, he has served 

as treasurer of the board of education, and is a public-spirited citizen, deeply 
interested in the general welfare. 

JOHN H. CAPE. 

John H. Cape, whio since 1886 has been a resident of Joplin and has been 
actively associated with mining inteests, is a native of southeastern Missouri, 
his birth having occurred near Desota. His people were pioneers of that por- 
tion of the state and took an active part in its development and upbuilding, 
reclaiming its wild lands for purposes of civilization. 

The boyhood days of our subject were quietly passed. He had some 
duties to perform and in the school-room he passed a portion of his time and 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 347 

also enjoyed the pleasures of the playground. Since entering upon his busi- 
ness career he has worked his way steadily upward, overcoming all difficulties 
and obstacles in his path by determined purpose and energy. He has been 
connected with the St. Louis Ore & Steel Company and the St. Joseph Lead 
Company, acting as superintendent of both through a considerable period. 
In 1886 he came to Joplin and acted as superintendent for different companies, 
and since 1900 has superintended the Royal Blue mine on the Granby land 
and the Imperial mine on the Continental land. These mines were opened in 
1896 and the former was known as Blakny No. 2 and the latter as the Lead 
Mule mine. Before the present company was incorporated he was in the 
service of the Luther Company, controlling the Lead Mule mine. Since first 
assuming control of these mines Mr. Cape has remained in continuous charge, 
superintending their operation, and. he also operates two mines on his own 
account, one of which is the Jackson, Jr. He is also engaged in prospecting 
to a considerable extent, and has done much to develop the mineral resources 
of the county and thus add to the general prosperity of the stockholders. He 
is well qualified for his present position, for long study and experience have 
enabled him to quickly recognize the possibilities of ore, the quality of the 
metal and what it will produce. 

The lady who now bears the name of Mrs. Cape was Miss Anna Grace 
in her maidenhood, a daughter of Thomas J. Grace, a pioneer settler of Chari- 
ton county, Missouri, where occurred the birth of Mrs. Cape, who is a most 
estimable lady, and with her husband enjoys the high regard of many friends. 
This union has resulted in the birth of one daughter, Marvel A. ' He is a 
Mason and belongs to the blue lodge, chapter and council, and in his life he 
exemplifies the beneficent and helpful spirit of the fraternity. 

J FREEMAN REES. 

One of the highly steemed old settlers of Jasper county is Freeman Rees, 
who resides on section 32, Marion township. His birth occurred near Lan- 
caster, Fairfield county, Ohio, September 21, 1832, and he was a son of 
Morris and Jane (Smith) Rees, and a grandson of Morris Rees. who was 
of Welsh descent and was one of the first settlers of Fairfield county. Ohio. 
The father of our subject was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and 
in 1799 accompanied his father to Ohio, where he lived until he was eighty- 
six years old, dying in 1878. He married Jane Smith, who was born in Cum- 
berland county, Pennsylvania, and was about fourteen years old when she 



343 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

came to Ohio, in 1810. She lived until 1882. Her father, John Smith, was 
born in Germany and when a young man came to the United States. Three 
sons were born to the parents of our subject, and he not only was the oldest 
of the family, but he is the only survivor. 

Mr. Rees was reared in his native county, attended the best schools in 
that locality, and was a thoroughly competent farmer by the time he was 
twenty years of age. He became employed in collection with a furnace, being 
thus engaged for four years, and in 1859 he came to Jasper county, Missouri, 
on a prospecting trip. The surroundings and prospects pleased him, and 
before he returned to Ohio he purchased two hundred and forty acres of 
land. In 1868 he came back and then bought the farm upon which he now 
resides. It was unimproved, and when Mr. Rees desires to remember the 
changes which have taken place he has but to recall that at that time there 
was neither house nor barn, while now he has a most comfortable residence 
and two substantial barns, and the surrounding wilderness has given way to 
cultivated and productive fields. In 1896 he sold his first land purchase and 
bought four hundred acres of Texas land, upon which his son Richard is 
located. His home place consists of one hundred and ninety acres. 

Mr. Rees was married in 1873 to Miss Sarah Knecht, who was born in 
Fairfield county, Ohio, October 14, 1854, a daughter of Lewis and Sarah 
(Patterson) Knecht, the former of whom was born in Germany, while the 
latter was a native of Franklin county, Ohio. The children born to these 
parents were five sons and five daughters, and Mrs. Rees is the sixth child of 
the family. Four children have been born to our subject and wife, these 
being: Richard J., who married Anna Primm; Ida E., who married M. R. 
Johnson, of Marion township ; Robert Lee and Frank, both residing at home. 

Mr. Rees has been a faithful adherent of the Democratic party for many 
years, and has exerted his influence in its interests. He has lived in this county 
since 1868, and well represents that hardy and courageous class of men who 
dared every hardship to pave the way for future civilization. 

* ELMER E. THOMPSON. 

The self-made man is as much in evidence in the mining districts of Mis- 
souri as anywhere else in the country. Among the best known of that class 
in the vicinity of Joplin, Jasper county, is Elmer Thompson, some account 
of whose antecedents and career it is the purpose of the writer to give in this 
connection. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 349 

Elmer Thompson is the eldest soil of Leonard Thompson, who went to 
Joplin in 1873 and in 1880 bought land south of the town, within the present 
city limits. He died in 1882, at the age of thirty-seven years, leaving a valua- 
ble property of twenty acres. Mr. Thompson, who was born in Illinois, mar- 
ried Miss Martha Wilks, a native of Perry county, that state. Their son 
Ezra is a well-known miner. Their daughter Adelie married Mr. Corry, of 
Rogers, Arkansas. Their daughter Winona married Herbert Wilson, who is 
well known in connection with local mining interests in Joplin. Their daugh- 
ter Eunice lives at Joplin. 

Elmer Thompson was born in Illinois and at the age of two years was 
taken to Missouri. He was a practical miner when only seventeen years old, 
and has been prospecting and mining ever since. He is now leasing the land 
on which is located the Brookfield, one of the first-class mines of the district. 
In 1893 he married Miss Minnie McAboy, daughter of Hervey McAboy, who 
for more than thirty years has been a prominent farmer in Joplin township, 
where he is the owner of an excellent agricultural property. Mr. McAboy 
is an active and well-known citizen, popular throughout Jasper county. Mr. 
and Mrs. Thompson have three children : Rea, Clyde and Esther. 

WILLIAM BUTTRUM. 

William Buttrum, whose mechanical skill and ability have gained him a 
place in the front rank among the mechanical experts of this part of the 
country, and who is now connected with the Joplin Machine Shops, was born 
near Louisville, Kentucky, and is a son of J. W. Buttrum, now a well-known 
resident of Jasper county. He was residing in Kentucky at the time of the 
Civil war, and joined the Union army as a member of the Eleventh Kentucky 
Infantry, in which he served until after the cessation of hostilities, loyally 
aiding in the preservation of the republic. He now receives a pension in com- 
pensation for the injuries which he sustained while at the front. In 1871 he 
left Kentucky and with his family came to Jasper county, locating in Joplin 
at the time when the town was founded. Through many years he has been 
identified with mining interests here, and in his operations has met with grati- 
fying prosperity. 

William Buttrum accompanied his father and has since been a resident 
of the county. His mechanical genius determined for him his line of life 
work, and he secured an excellent position in the machine shops of J. W. 
Freeman, of Joplin, having previously learned the trade with W. S. Harmony 



35o BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

in 1 88 1. While with Mr. Freeman he had charge of the best works built, — 
a one hundred and seventy-five horse-power Corliss engine, the only one ever 
built west of St. Louis, Missouri. In 1898 he became connected with the 
Joplin Machine Shops, established in October. General repair work is car- 
ried on and a specialty is also made of steam drill work. Mr. Buttrum is 
familiar with the great scientific principles which underlie his work as well 
as with all mechanical construction, and has gained a position among those 
whose proficiency classes them among the experts. 

Mr. Buttrum was united in marriage in 1886 to Melissa Yocam, of Jop- 
lin, and they have one child living, Maude May, fourteen years of age. So- 
cially he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. 

JAMES H. ROBERTSON. 

The list of leading citizens of Jasper county contains the name of James 
H. Robertson, one of the representative and honored pioneer citizens of the 
locality. His record as a soldier, as an official and as a business man has been 
so honorable that he has gained the confidence and good will of all with 
whom he lias been brought in contact. 

Mr. Robertson was born in Woodstock, Canada, March 2, 1848. His 
father, Robert Robertson, was a native of Scotland, and was there reared and 
educated. He was married in his native country to Susanna Hamilton, also 
a native of Scotland. After their marriage they left the land of hills and 
heather and crossed the broad Atlantic to Canada, arriving" there in 1838. 
The father was there employed as a cabinet-maker until i860, the year of his 
arrival in the United States. His first location was at Alton, Illinois, thence 
removing to Greene county, where he died when about sixty years of age. 
His wife was also called to her final rest in that county, passing away at the 
age of fifty-six years. They were the parents of eleven children, eight of 
whom are still living, four sons and four daughters. 

James H. Robertson, their fourth child and third son, received a common- 
school education in Canada, and in i860 he accompanied his parents on their 
removal to the United States. In 1864 he loyally responded to the call of his 
adopted country, enlisting in Company K, One Hundred and Eighth Illinois 
Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and served with honor and distinction until 
the close of hostilities. He participated in a number of hard-fought battles, 
and when the country no longer needed his services he was honorably dis- 
charged at Chicago, Illinois, in 1865, returning home with a creditable mili- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 351 

tary record. He then located in Macoupin county, Illinois, and in 1874 came 
to Jasper county, Missouri. After his arrival in this state he located in Jaspe? 
township, where he remained until 1880, and in that year settled on the farm 
which he still owns and operates. At one time Mr. Robertson owned one 
hundred and sixty acres of land, but in 1901 he disposed of one-half of his 
farm. His land is under a high state of cultivation and everything about the 
place is neat and thrifty in appearance, indicating to the passer-by the careful 
supervision of a progressive owner. 

Mr. Robertson was first married in Macoupin county, Illinois, to Lucinda 
Enos, and they had three children,— Fannie, Rosie and Johnnie. In 1880 
was celebrated his marriage with Alice Wilson, the widow of George Basore 
and a native of Illinois. In his political affiliations Mr. Robertson is a stanch 
Republican, unswerving in his allegiance to the principles of that grand old 
party, and in its ranks he has taken a prominent and active part. Although 
never an office-seeker, he has been called upon by his fellow townsmen to 
serve as constable and as road overseer, and in both offices he has served with 
credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. He maintains pleasant 
relations with his comrades of the blue by his membership in Stephen Decatur 
Post, G. A. R., No. 142, at Medoc, in which he has filled all the offices. He 
is a man of strong mentality, of broad humanitarian principles and kindly 
motives. No trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed, and whether on 
the field of battle protecting the stars and stripes or in private life he is true 
to his country and its best interests,— a loyal and patriotic citizen. 

A. BENSON CLARK, M. D. 

Dr. A. Benson Clark, a prominent physician of Jasper county, Missouri, 
was born in Pleasant City, Guernsey county, Ohio, February 9, 1865, a son 
of William F. and Aley (Gregory) Clark. His grandfather, Benjamin Clark, 
was a native of Pennsylvania, and removed to Guernsey county in pioneer 
days. His son, William F. Clark, was born in Ohio, was a farmer by occupa- 
tion and lived to the age of seventy years. He was formerly a Whig in poli- 
tics, but later became a Republican. He was a member of the Masonic order, 
and was also a member and trustee of the old Bethel Methodist Episcopal' 
church. In matters of dispute among his neighbors he was often called upon 
to arbitrate their differences, and he thus prevented many law-suits. He died 
on the 22d of December, 1893, an d was buried in the old Bethel cemetery in 
Guernsey county, Ohio. The mother of our subject was a daughter of Noble 



352 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Gregory, a native of Ireland, who came to America when a young man, set- 
tling first in Pennsylvania, but later removed to Ohio to make his permanent 
home. A family of six daughters and two sons were born to the parents of 
our subject, the sons being Samuel G. and the Doctor. 

A. Benson Clark was reared and educated in Ohio, attending the district 
schools until nineteen years of age, when he engaged in teaching, following 
that line for three years, the last eight months of which were spent in his home 
district where he had so< long been a student. He later enjoyed superior 
educational advantages at New Concord College, at New Concord, Ohio, 
also in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and in Columbus Medical College, graduating 
in the last-named institution in 1890. The same year he located in Joplin, 
Missouri. In 1891 he removed to Zincite, Missouri, and in 1893 began prac- 
tice at Carl Junction, in which he has been eminently successful. His prepa- 
ration for medical college was gained under the instruction of Dr. John Mil- 
ton Dunham, the well-known physician of Columbus, and his pupil has done 
him great credit. 

The first marriage of Dr. Clark was on March 19, 1890, to Louise B. 
Meek, of Byesville, Ohio, who died November 29, 1891. The second mar- 
riage of Dr. Clark was on December 27, 1893, to Jennie D. Stephens, a 
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Stephens, of Zincite, Missouri. No chil- 
dren were born of either marriage. Dr. Clark is a prominent member of the 
Masonic order of this place, has been master of the lodge for four terms and 
has filled many of the official positions. His political sentiments make him a 
Republican, and he has been one of the active members of the party for some 
time. He is a member and trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church at Carl 
Junction. ■, 

4 JOHN WESLEY EARLES. 

Among the well-known citizens of Webb City connected with its min- 
ing interests is John W. Earles, who was born in Lawrence county, Ohio, 
June 13, 1839. His father, William Earles, was a native of Virginia and 
married Artie Brammer, who was a native of Ohio. They settled on a farm 
and passed their lives in Lawrence county. The paternal grandfather, Charles 
Earles, was of English ancestry and lived in Virginia, where he married Mary 
Ferguson. The maternal grandfather was James Brammer, whose mother 
was a Lee, and he married Sarah Seamands. 

John W. Earles attended the common schools of his locality and later 




JOHN W. EARLES. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 35 5 

Ewington College, in Gallia county, Ohio, and during the succeeding four 
winters taught school in his district. On the 24th of October, 1861, Mr. 
Earles enlisted and was mustered into the United States service at Camp 
Diamond. Ohio, as a private of Company G, Fifty-third Regiment, Ohio Vol- 
unteer Infantry, Colonel Jesse J. Appier and later Colonel Wells S. Jones 
commanding, while Captain George K. Hosford commanded the company. 
The .regiment rendezvoused at Camp Diamond, Jackson county, Ohio, and on 
February 16th embarked on a steamer at Portsmouth, Ohio, proceeding to 
Paducah, Kentucky, where it was assigned to the Third Brigade of General YV. 
T. Sherman's Division and moved on transports to Savannah, Tennessee, from 
which place they started on an expedition to destroy the Memphis & Charles- 
ton Railroad, near Iuka. Mississippi, disembarking at Pittsburg" Landing. 
Soon afterward the regiment was assigned to the Second Brigade, Third 
Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, in the Army of the Tennessee, and partici- 
pated in the following engagements: Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, Monte- 
rey, Tennessee, siege of Corinth, siege of Vicksburg and the battle of Jackson, 
Mississippi, Mission Ridge, Tennessee, Resaca, Dallas, Kennesaw Mountain. 
Nickajack Creek, Ruff's Mills, Atlanta, Ezra Chapel, siege of Atlanta, Jones- 
boro, the march to the sea and Fort McAlister, Georgia, besides a number or 
minor engagements and skirmishes. Mr. Earles was constantly with his 
command. He never missed a fight or skirmish in which his regiment par- 
ticipated, and performed most faithful and meritorious service, earning high 
commendation, as is evidenced by his promotion from a private to the rank of" 
captain. Fie was wounded in the right arm slightly by a gunshot at Pitts- 
burg Landing, April 7, 1862, and at Dallas, Georgia, had his belt plate stove 
in by a sharpshooter. He received his honorable discharge at Fort McAlister. 
Georgia, on the 24th of December, 1864. Mr. Earles is a valued member of 
Logan Post, Xo. 6. G. A. R., and has a fine record as a soldier, having been 
promoted for gallantry from a private to second lieutenant, later to first 
lieutenant and in 1864 was made captain. 

Returning to Ohio Mr. Earles was elected sheriff of Lawrence count 
the fall of 1865, on the Republican ticket, and served two years. In 1867 he 
was appointed United States deputy marshal by General Hikenlooper, in which 
position he also served for two years. In the latter part of 1869 he went 
west as far as Kansas, where he was engaged in farming until 1875. when 
he came to Jasper county, Missouri, and engaged in mining. He became 
part owner of some very valuable property, which was later sold very ad- 
vantageously for thirty-five thousand dollars. With his partners he is 1 

19 



356 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

engaged in opening up the Maud B. mine, which is proving the most pro- 
ductive of any of the mines on the Conner tract. 

In 1 87 1 Mr. Earles was married to Miss Mary J. Hatfield, of Greenfield, 
Indiana, a daughter of Thomas J. and Elsalee (Williams) Hatfield. Four 
sons have been born to our subject and wife, namely : George T., William J., 
Frank J. and Fred C. 






FRANCIS W. CHAFFEE. 



A highly respected and eminently successful citizen of Carthage, Mis- 
souri, now living retired after an active business life is Francis W. Chaffee, 
who was born in Niagara county, New York, August 29, 1829. He was a 
son of Warren and Elizabeth (Otta) Chaffee, the former of whom was born 
in Vermont, and the latter was born in France. Soon after their marriage 
Mr. and Mrs. Chaffee removed from Vermont to Niagara county, New York, 
and there Mr. Chaffee bought one hundred and sixty acres of land of the 
Holland Land Company, and there the mother of our subject died. Mr. 
Chaffee then removed his family to Noble county, Indiana, where three years 
were spent, after which they went to Lenawee county, Michigan, where Mr. 
Chaffee died. 

It was in Adrian, Michigan, that Francis W. Chaffee received his edu- 
cation, and when he finished school he became assistant postmaster and later 
clerk in a dry goods store in Michigan. In 1853 he made a trip to Council 
Bluffs, Iowa, and finally located in Des Moines, that state, where he engaged 
in clerking for a period, but when the gold excitement was at its height at 
Pike's Peak he went there with the other miners. After the election of Presi- 
dent Lincoln he returned to Des Moines and was the assistant postmaster of 
that city for the succeeding four years. Mr. Chaffee next embarked in the dry- 
goods business, but sold out in 1870 and came to Carthage, Missouri, where 
he entered into a partnership with Robert Howell in the hardware business. 
At the death of Mr. Howell, some years later, his interest was purchased by 
John McCrillis and the firm became Chaffee & McCrillis. This business con- 
nection lasted for twelve years, when Mr. Chaffee sold his interest to his part- 
ner and retired from active business. Since then he has given his attention 
only to the supervision of his real-estate interests. 

In 1856 occurred the marriage of Mr. Chaffee and Miss Margaret C. 
Kellogg, whose parents removed to the west from Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
vania, where she was born. The two sons of Mr. and Mrs. Chaffee are: 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 357 

Frank, who is the foreman of the foundry at Carterville ; and Jerome B., who 
is a dentist at Carthage, Missouri. One daughter, Annie Mary, was acci- 
dentally drowned at the age of seventeen years, and Kittie died at the age of 
sixteen years. 

Mr. Chaffee is one of the substantial citizens of Carthage and owns much 
property here, which he rents. With W. L. Burlingame he built the Carthage 
Opera House, in which he has a half interest. Although he has reached his 
seventy-second year, Mr. Chaffee retains much of his youthful vigor of mind 
and body, and is one of the affable and hospitable citizens for which this little 
city is noted. 

W. C. RACKERBY. 

The history of the family of Rackerby, of which W. C. Rackerby, super- 
intendent of the Homestead Zinc & Lead Company, of Webb City and St. 
Louis, Missouri, is a member, is marked with incidents of much interest in 
connection with our national history before and since the war. Mr. Rack- 
erby was born in Caldwell county, Kentucky, a son of J. H. and Georgiana 
(Dudley) Rackerby. His father was a native of Virginia, and his mother 
was a daughter of Robert Dudley, who came to Caldwell county, Kentucky, 
from the Old Dominion. Mr. Rackerby remembers that about 1854 or 1855 
his father, who owned slaves, became impressed with the inhumanity and in- 
justice of human bondage and freed his negroes. 

Mr. Rackerby has been mining and prospecting since he was sixteen 
years old, from the head waters of the Missouri river to California, at times 
in Illinois, Iowa, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, except during 
the three years when he was in the army. He has been mining in this district 
fourteen years. For five years he was superintendent of General John \Y. 
Noble's mines at Webb City and Oronogo. He opened the first shaft at Neck 
City, of which he was part owner. He directs the operation of two mills of 
one hundred tons each, and has charge O'f eighty acres of land which includes 
the mining property. He has filled this position for the past three years. He 
opened ground here for the company, and now has five shafts in operation, 
ranging in depth from one hundred and seventy to two hundred feet. 

Mr. Rackerby was married at Cincinnati, Ohio, to Miss Sarah De Palos, 
of Spanish descent. Since the organization of the Republican party he has 
been one of its stalwart advocates. In 1862 he enlisted in the First Missouri 
Regiment, in which for three, years he served at various points from St. Louis 



353 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

to the Gulf of Mexico, participating in eleven pitched battles and in the siege 
of Vicksburg. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and takes 
a deep interest in political and all other questions affecting the public welfare. 

JOHN W. BURCH. 

West Virginia, cut off from the Old Dominion through the exigencies 
of war, retains in the public mind its share of the reverence which is due to 
that grand old state, which early in our national history came to be known as 
''the mother of presidents." This comparatively new state has given to Mis- 
souri many citizens of most worthy character, who have done much toward 
the development of the resources of that great commonwealth. Prominent 
among those of West Virginian nativity who have cast their lot with the citi- 
zens of Jasper county is John W. Burch, mine operator and farmer. 

John W. Burch was born in Hardy county. West Virginia, January 30, 
1 84 1, a son of Covington and Mary E. (Tharp) Burch. He lived in his 
native state until 1858, when he removed to Piatt county, Illinois, where he 
remained until 1865. Going to Benton county, Missouri, in December, 1865, 
he located near W'arsaw, where he remained until December, 1867, when he 
removed to Jasper county, Missouri, and settled near what is now Duenweg, 
on a forty-acre tract of land, which he improved. His father operated a farm 
of one hundred and thirty acres and also mined to some extent until his death,. 
in 1875. His mother died in Illinois December 12, i860. 

John W. Burch gained his primary education in private schools taught 
near his birthplace in Hardy county, West Virginia, and was for two years a 
student at Oldfields Academy- In 1862, when he was twenty-one years of 
age, he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Seventh Regiment, Illinois 
Volunteer Infantry, which was in turn comprised in the commands of Gen- 
erals Burnside and Sherman. He participated in the battles at Resaca, New 
Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain, Dallas, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Love- 
joy Station, Jonesboro, Georgia, and in other engagements. He was pres- 
ent at the surrender of General Johnston's army at Greensboro, North Caro- 
lina, in April, 1865, and was honorably discharged from the service June 
22, 1865. 

Returning to Illinois, he soon removed to Benton county, Missouri, 
whence, in the fall of 1867, he came to Jasper county, where he was engaged 
in farming, mining and teaching school until 1874, when he took up his resi- 
dence in Carthage, having been appointed deputy county treasurer and col- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 359 

lector, which position he rilled two years. During two subsequent years he 
was deputy county clerk. In June, 1878, he was elected recorder of deeds 
for Jasper county on the Democratic ticket for a term of four years. He 
served also as city clerk of Carthage. Meanwhile he gave his attention to 
mining, which he has continued most of the time with much success. 

Mr. Burch was married September 5, 1867, to Miss Nancy E. Barnett, 
of Benton county, Missouri, a daughter of William H. and Lethea Ann (Jen- 
kins) Barnett, who has borne him five children, four of whom are living, one 
dying in infancy. Their daughter Mary E. married Joseph McCollum, a 
successful druggist of Webb City and Carterville. Their son Charles E., who 
is located at Joplin, Missouri, where he is gaining an enviable reputation as an 
attorney at the Jasper county bar, saw active service in the Spanish war with 
the Second Regiment, Missouri Volunteers, in which he served with the rank 
of sergeant major. Their daughter Anna is a teacher and student of music. 
Their daughter Henrietta is in the Carthage high school. Mr. Burch is a 
member of the Masonic order in all of the different degrees up to and including 
that of Knight Templar. 



; 



ETHELBERT D. JOHNSON. 

The subject of this sketch is not only a well-known business man of 
Webb City, Jasper county, Missouri, but is a native of the great common- 
wealth in which he is achieving an enviable material success. Mr. Johnson 
was born in Warrington, Warren county, Missouri. July 6, 1852, a son of 
Thomas W. and Eliza Jane ( Archer) Johnson. The family is of Scotch 
descent. His grandfather, Townson Johnson, was an agriculturist, who 
early located in North Carolina, and removed thence to Franklin county, 
Missouri, where he and his wife, who was Miss Rebecca Dyson, both lived 
out their days. Thomas W. Johnson was born in Franklin county, Missouri, 
in 1829, and died in Union, that county, April 16, 1876. During all his active 
years he was a wagon-maker. Eliza Jane Archer, who became his wife, was 
born in North Carolina, and in early life removed to Warren county, Mis- 
souri. She is still living in Franklin county, and was sixty-eight years of 
age on the 20th of September, 1901. Her father, Thomas D. Archer, a na- 
tive of Virginia, married Nancy Cahall, who was of Scotch-Irish extraction. 

The subject of this sketch attended the public schools at Union, Frank- 
lin county, Missouri, until he was about nineteen years old. then, after devot- 
ing himself for three months to special instruction in teaching, gave up the 



360 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

idea of being a pedagogue and accepted a position as manager of a livery 
business on a mail route. Later for a time he was inspector of railway cars 
at Kansas City, Missouri, for one of the great lines centering there. On the 
2d of August, 1890, he went to Joplin, Jasper county, to accept a position as 
office man and warehouse man, and in 1894 he was promoted to the local 
agency of the Waters, Pierce Oil Company, at Webb City, a position which he 
has since held with much success. 

On the 6th of March, 1877, Mr. Johnson married Mrs. Minnie E. (Gish) 
Ross, a daughter of William Gish, of Tipton. Moniteau county, Missouri, 
and they have one son, George F. Johnson, who is attending school and assist- 
ing his father as opportunity offers. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Wood- 
men of the World and of the Knights and Ladies of Security. He is a man 
of much -enterprise and public spirit, is not without political influence, and 
gives his aid eagerly to all movements promising the advancement of local 
interests. 



] 



A. A. BARRETT. 



No work purporting to contain biographical mention of well-known citi- 
zens of Jasper county. Missouri, would be complete if it did not give due at- 
tention to the gentleman whose name is above and who lives on section 19, 
Jasper township. A. A. Barrett was born in Addison county, Vermont, in 
1842, a son of John H. and Salona (Angier) Barrett. The father was born 
in Xew Hampshire, and after farming for some time in Vermont removed 
to Tazewell county, Illinois, about 1857. From there he went to Woodford 
county, Illinois, thence to Normal, that state, and afterward to Oklahoma 
Territory, where he died at about the age of eighty years. The immediate 
family of Barrett, of which he was a representative, is of English extraction. 
Salona Angier was born and reared in New Hampshire, and died at about the 
age of forty-eight years. She, too, was of English descent. She bore her 
husband two children, of whom A. A. was the elder. 

When the family removed to Tazewell county, Illinois, the subject of 
this sketch was about fifteen years of age. He had already acquired a con- 
siderable education in Vermont, and he finished his studies at Metamora, 
Woodford county, Illinois. In 1861, when he was nineteen years old, he 
enlisted in Company B, Fremont's body guard, with which he served four 
months until General Fremont was superseded. Returning to Illinois, he 
farmed in Madison county until 1866, when he removed to Neosho county,. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 361 

Kansas, whence he went to Newton, county, [Missouri, locating on a farm 
about four miles south of the present site of Joplin, there being no town at 
that point at the time. There he remained twelve years, and removed thence 
to Jasper county, located on section 14, Jasper township, where he succc — 
fully engaged in farming and stock-raising, and where he lived until he re- 
moved to his present farm. He still owns his original farm in Jasper town- 
ship, and by subsequent purchases has come to be the proprietor of nine hun- 
dred and sixty acres of good land, on which he has seven residences. He is 
also the owner of real estate at Joplin and of valuable mining property in 
Colorado. At one time he was an extensive stock-raiser, but he now gives 
his attention principally to buying and shipping hay, which he bales. He 
handles many carloads annually, being the heaviest dealer in this product in 
the vicinity. 

Air. Barrett has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Martha 
E. Johnson, and they were married in Illinois. She bore him three sons, 
named Charles W., Frank F. and John H. Barrett. His present wife was 
Miss Myrtle Gould. Politically Mr. Barrett is a stanch Republican. He 
cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864, and has voted 
for every Republican candidate for the presidency since that time. He takes 
just pride in the fact that lie is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. 

JAMES P. BOSS. 

Opportunities afforded by the mining interests of Missouri have attracted 
to the state men of ability and character who would have been successful in 
any other field of enterprise. Here they have found ample scope for their 
abilities and have contributed their full share toward giving Missouri her 
splendid standing among her sister states. Of this class of citizens is James 
P. Boss, of Joplin, Jasper county, who came to that locality in 1871, and has 
had a successful career here since. In 1885 he became superintendent for 
the Picher Lead Company. The concern produces pig lead, white lead and 
kindred products, and handles about one hundred thousand pounds of ore per 
day. giving employment to from one hundred and twenty to two hundred men. 
Mr. Boss' connection with this enterprise dates from 1877, when Moffat & 
Sargant were operating, and has been continuous to the present time. He 
has been to a greater or less degree engaged on his own account in pros- 
pecting and mining, in connection with others ; in fact, he has been operating 
in one way or another in Jasper and Newton counties since 1886. 



362 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

James P. Boss is a son of William and Jane ( Pincock) Boss. His 
ler, who came to the state from Iowa and located on a farm on Jones 
creek, died in 1898, at the age of eighty-one years. His mother, who was a 
native of England, died in 1901, at the age of seventy-five years. Mr. Boss 
married Miss Elizabeth Fannie Moore, daughter of John Nelson Moore, who 
came to Jasper county from Crawfordsville, Indiana, in 1867, and located 
at Fidelity, south of Carthage, where he died in the year 1900, at the age of 
seventy-four. Flis wife bore the maiden name of Sarah Moore, and died in 
1882. Mr. and Mrs. Moore were faithful members of the Christian church 
during their entire lives. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Boss was born one son, Claude 
M., who died at the age of sixteen years. Mr. Boss is a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of Joplin. He is a man of enterprise, and 
has a most comprehensive knowledge of mining, and it was his success as an 
individual operator that led to his being called to his present responsible posi- 
tion, which he fills with a degree of ability and integrity that commends him 
not alone to his employers, but to the general public. As a citizen he is quiet 
and unobtrusive, but takes much interest in all questions of public policy and 
in the general development and advancement of the community. 

CHARLES W. REED. 

It has been the discovery of the rich mineral deposits of this locality that 
has led to its development, and among those who have been prominent in 
pri '.noting the mining interests of Missouri is C. \Y. Reed, the present efficient 
superintendent of the Roberta Mining Company. He is an excellent judge of 
the value of ore, and, a man of unimpeachable integrity, he is well qualified for 
the position which he so acceptably fills. All concerned commend him for the 
straightforward, prompt and reliable manner in which he discharges his 
duties. 

Mr. Reed claims Sanilac county, Michigan, as the place of his nativity, 
his birth having occurred there in 1862. After putting aside his text-books 
to engage in the active duties of life, he became interested in the lumber 
business in Saginaw, Michigan. The year 1886 witnessed his arrival in 
Jasper county, first taking up his abode in Joplin. For the past thirteen years 
he has been engaged exclusively in mining operations, principally on his own 
account. During that time he has opened up and developed many important 
and valuable mines, including the Big Circle, Bunker Hill, Midway and many 
others, all of which have been sold at a handsome profit. Mr. Reed maintains 




CHARLES W. REED. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 365 

his residence at Webb City, where he is widely recognized as a man of sterling 
worth. 

He was united in marriage with Miss Mary Stockinger, of East Saginaw, 
Michigan. They have a wide acquaintance throughout the state, especially in 
mining circles, and his appointment as superintendent of the Roberta Mining 
Company indicates the confidence reposed in him and the high regard accorded 
him. 



/ 



JOXAS A. MITCHELL. 

For twenty-two years Jonas A. Mitchell has been a representative of the 
banking interests of Carthage, and has been instrumental in maintaining one 
of the most reliable financial institutions in southwestern Missouri, where he 
enjoys a most enviable reputation in business circles. He was born in Frank- 
lin county, Maine, in March, 1837, his parents being Jonas and Martha 
(Campbell) Mitchell, who were also natives of New England, the father hav- 
ing been born in Massachusetts, the mother in New Hampshire. The for- 
mer died in 1869, but the latter is still living. The Mitchell family is of 
Irish lineage, and was founded in America at an early epoch in our country's 
history. The grandfather, James Mitchell, was a native of Massachusetts, 
and married a Miss McDonald, who was of Scotch descent. 

Jonas A. Mitchell pursued his education in the public schools of his native 
state and in the academy in his home town. After putting aside his text- 
books he worked upon his father's farm for a time, and later was employed 
in various ways until 1871, when he became a partner in a large grocery and 
liquor house in St. Louis, Missouri, in which he had been employed as a sales- 
man from 1864. He was connected with that enterprise until 1878, when 
he sold his interest and came to Carthage. Here he purchased an interest in 
the bank, the oldest financial institution in the city, and with its management 
and control he has since been continuously and actively identified. From 
1879 to 1886 he and his partner, G. A. Cassil, owned the entire stock of the 
bank and carried on a good business, receiving a liberal patronage, owing to 
their reliable and conservative methods, their obliging manner and their desire 
to accommodate their patrons. This institution was incorporated under the 
laws of Missouri in 1880, and is now known as the Bank of Carthage, and is 
capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars. In addition to his bank stock" 
Mr. Mitchell is the owner of other real estate in Jasper county, together with 



366 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNT V. 

his attractive brick residence, which is situated on one of the finest streets in 
Carthage. 

In 1869 Mr. Mitchell was united in marriage to Miss Mary B. Rose, of 
St. Louis, and two children have been born unto them: Mamie A., the wife 
of D. C. Hamilton, of Carthage; and Julia B., who is a student in school. 
The family occupy an enviable position in social circles, and their home is cele- 
brated for gracious hospitality and charming social functions. Mr. Mitchell 
is very genial and jovial in manner, and has gained a host of warm friends 
among the residents of his adopted county. Throughout his business career 
his marked industry, enterprise and sagacity have been manifest in meeting 
the various situations and contingencies that have arisen, and to-day he stands 
among the men of affluence in his adopted county who owe their prosperity 
and prominence to their own efforts. 

G. T. POOL, M. D. 

A prominent and successful member of the medical profession in Webb 
City, Missouri, is Dr. G. T. Pool, who was born on a farm in St. Francis 
county, Missouri, November 22, 1861. He was a son of Cincinnatus A. and 
Amanda (Herbert) Pool, the former of whom was a lawyer by profession and 
was also one of the large planters of Virginia. He was a man held in high 
esteem, and he died of typhoid fever in 1865. His father was a native of 
Sheffield, England, and on his arrival, many years ago, from his English 
home, where many branches of the family still reside, he settled in Virginia. 

Dr. George T. Pool was reared in St. Francis county, and passed with 
credit through both the common and high schools, and then began the study 
of medicine under the direction of Dr. Alfred A. Rudy, a successful practi- 
tioner of St. Francis county. In 1889 he entered the Denver University, at 
which he graduated with honors in 1892, and from there entered the Barnes 
Medical College, at St. Louis, Missouri, at which he graduated in 1893. Dr. 
Pool began his practice in Potosi, Missouri, where he remained until 1900, at 
which time he came to Webb City, where he has already taken a leading posi- 
tion in his profession. 

The Doctor was married October 2, 1884, to Miss Emma A. Rudy, the 
accomplished daughter of Dr. Rudy, of St. Francis county, and two children 
have been born of this union: Edith E., a student in the high school; and 
Gladvs. Dr. Pool is well and favorably known as a member of Potosi Lodge, 
No. 131, A. F. & A. M., and also of the Knob Lick, Missouri, Lodge, No. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 367 

441, I. O. O. F. Although he is still a young man, he has had much experi- 
ence in his profesion, was thoroughly prepared for it and keeps abreast of its 
latest discoveries. His skill and close attention to his patients have won for 
him the confidence of the community, and his practice is constantly extending. 

v CYRUS A. EMRY. 

Cyrus A. Emry, collector of Jasper county, and a well known resident of 
Carthage, was born in Canton, Illinois, July 22, 1846, his parents being David 
F. and Catherine (Alms) Emry, the former a native of Ohio and the latter 
of Pennsylvania. Soon after their marriage they removed to Canton, Illinois, 
and for a number of years resided upon a farm, but for a long period the 
father followed surveying. In 1882 he removed with his family to Carthage, 
Missouri, where his remaining days were passed, his death occurring in 1895, 
while his wife passed away in 1899. He served as deputy surveyor in this 
county for several years and was a valued citizen. The paternal grandfather 
of our subject was David F. Emry, who took up his abode in Canton, Illinois, 
in 1 832. He married Miss Edith Fisher, who was born and reared in the 
vicinity of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The maternal grandfather was Henry 
Alms, who married Miss Elizabeth Gaffney. Fie settled in Pennsylvania, 
whence he removed to Illinois in 1836. His daughter Catherine became the 
wife of David F. Emry and died in her seventy-seventh year. She had the 
following children: John H. ; Mary E., of Carthage; Cyrus A.; Edith M., 
who is also living in Carthage; Elvia, deceased; Lewis R., of Canton, Illinois; 
Martin L., who is living in Salem, Oregon; David L., who is in Dawson, 
Alaska ; and Luella, a resident of Canton, Illinois. 

Cyrus A. Emry pursued his education in the public schools and was reared 
upon the home farm, early becoming familiar with all the duties that fall to the 
lot of the agriculturist. In 1874 he married Miss Emma Burson, of Canton, 
a daughter of James and Mary (Weaver) Burson. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Emry 
have been born four daughters and one son : Catherine L., the wife of W. E. 
Elting, of Carthage. Missouri; Edna, at home; Leslie B., a student of mining 
at Rolla, Missouri; Mary and Winifred, who are still with their parents. 

At the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Emry took up their abode 
near Canton, Illinois, where Mr. Emry engaged in farming and was afterward 
with the Parlin Orendorff Company, manufacturers of plows in Canton, 
Illinois. In 1882 he removed with his family to Jasper county, where he has 
since resided. For several years he has engaged extensively and successfully 



368 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

in the breeding of fancy chickens and was chosen to be one of the judges of 
poultry at the World's Columbian Exposition, in Chicago, in 1893. He is 
also interested in lead and zinc mining in southwestern Missouri. In 1896 he 
was elected collector for real estate and in 1898 was re-elected, continuing in 
the position until March, 1901. In his political adherency he is a Democrat, 
loyal and true to the principles and party in which he believes. 

HENRY JUERGENS. 

Henry Juergens, superintendent of the Trouble mine, located on the 
Continental lease, is one of the prominent and leading business men in this 
section of the commonwealth. He is well known in mining circles, where 
his excellent knowledge of the business has won for him a leading position, 
and in both business and private life he sustains an enviable reputation. 

Mr. Juergens is a native son of Missouri, his birth having occurred in 
Maries county. His father, J. Juergens, now resides in Joplin. He has also 
devoted much of his time to mining operations, and during the summer of 
1900 he was employed in the lead and silver mines, while for a time he 
worked in the mining district south of Duenweg, Jasper county. He also 
spent three years with the Empire Company. 

Henry Juergens, of this review, has been engaged in the business which 
he now follows for fifteen years, much of the time operating on his own 
account, and his efforts in his chosen work have been attended with a high 
degree of success. He has opened up some of the most valuable and paying 
properties in the locality, and for one year he served as superintendent of the 
Colorado Company, while for a time he had charge of the Sam Moore mine. 
For the past year he has occupied his present position as superintendent of 
the Trouble mine. In his social relations Mr. Juergens is a member of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen fraternity. 
His activity in business has not only contributed to his individual success 
but has also been an active factor in the development of the state, and he is 
now accounted one of the representative citizens of his locality. 

THOMAS V. GRIEB. 

The business of county surveying is in competent hands for Thomas 
Victor Grieb holds the office of county surveyor, and is thoroughly familiar 
with the profession, understanding fully the great scientific and mathematical 





HEHRY JUERGEHS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 37 * 

principles as well as the practical work which devolves upon the representa- 
tives of this field of endeavor. He makes his home in Carthage and is well 
known for his fidelity to the duties of official, business and private life. 

Mr. Grieb was born upon a farm in Clinton county, Pennsylvania, in 
September, 1865. His father, Thomas H. Grieb, was born in Bucks count)-, 
Pennsylvania, in 1833, and the mother was a native of Clinton county. In 
1869 the family left the Keystone state and came to Jasper county, Missouri, 
locating upon a farm in Union township, where in connection with the cultiva- 
tion of the fields the father carried on stock-raising until his retirement from 
business life. His wife died in 1874. 

The subject of this review was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads 
of the period, and after attending the common schools entered Neosho College, 
where he pursued his studies for two years. He afterward embarked upon his 
business career as a merchant and continued in that line for two years when 
he took up the study of surveying with George Bradford, who was county 
surveyor for eight years. He was also associated with C. N. Clark, and at 
the same time acted as surveyor for a mining company. In November, 1900, 
he was elected county surveyor on the Democratic ticket, his term to continue 
for four years. He has surveyed considerable mining land in this portion of 
the state and is an expert in his line of work, his labors giving uniform sat- 
isfaction. 

In 1894 Mr. Grieb was united in marriage to Miss Ada Garland, a daugh- 
ter of Thomas M. Garland, of Carthage. Socially he is connected with the 
Knights of Pythias and Elk fraternities, and he has many pleasant qualities 
which have gained for him the good will and esteem of his brethren of the 
fraternities. In business he is reliable, accurate and steadfast, and the reputa- 
tion which he enjoys is enviable. 

GEORGE PEARSON. 

George Pearson, superintendent of the King Jack Mining Company, is a 
mining expert. He is also a man of keen discrimination and sound judgment, 
of unfaltering perseverance and unflagging enterprise, and through the posses- 
sion of these qualities he has gained rank among the foremost business men of 
his state. He is a native son of Missouri, his birth having occurred in Newton 
county, where his father, Thomas Pearson, was an old and highly esteemed 
resident. He was a native of Tennessee, and his death occurred in Newton 
county, Missouri, in 1879. He became prominent in Masonic circles, exem- 



372 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

plifying its ennobling principles in his every day life. The mother of our 
subject, who bore the maiden name of Susan Fraser, was also a native of the 
state of Tennessee. 

George Pearson, whose name introduces this review, has been engaged in 
mining operations in Jasper county for the past nine years, and for the past 
two years he has served as superintendent of the King Jack Company. The 
King Jack mine, located in Chitwood, is one of the most valuable mining prop- 
erties in this district, and it now pays nearly forty thousand dollars per month. 
Mr. Pearson became interested in the mine when the shaft was only ninety 
feet deep. He is also interested in the Crown Prince mine, another valuable 
and paying property, and in the Silver Shield mine, which is located on the 
United Zinc Company's ground and which is equally as valuable in its rich 
mineral deposits. On the latter is erected a one-hundred-ton mill. He has 
leased for fifteen years one hundred and twenty acres of land of the Jackson 
estate, located five miles from Joplin, on which he has erected three shafts 
and also has six drill holes. Although a young man in years, having only 
reached his twenty-third year, he has gained a reputation in business circles 
which many an older man might well envy, and in all the varied relations of 
life he has striven to do his whole duty toward his own community, state and 
country. In his political affiliations he is a stanch supporter of the Democ- 
racy. 

/ JOSHUA SHAFFER. 

This honored pioneer citizen and prominent agriculturist of Jasper 
county, Missouri, is a native of the Buckeye state, his birth having occurred 
in Fairfield county on the 15th of March, 1843. His paternal grandfather, 
Isaac Shaffer, was a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and was a 
farmer by occupation. He afterward became one of the early settlers of 
Lancaster, Ohio. His son and the father of our subject, John S. Shaffer, 
was also> a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and he, too, followed 
farming as a life occupation. In 1868 he took up his abode in Carthage, 
Jasper county, Missouri, where he spent the remainder of his life in the quiet 
enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil, passing away a£ the age of sixty- 
eight years. He married Miss Sarah A. Stuckey, a native of Fairfield county, 
Ohio, and she reached the age of seventy-three years. Her father, Peter 
Stuckey, was a native of Germany, but when a young man located in Ohio. 

Joshua Shaffer, the seventh in a family of eleven children, was reared 
in the place of his nativity, and when fifteen years of age he entered the Wit- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 373 

tenberg College, graduating in that institution in 1866. During the follow- 
ing vear he was employed as a teacher, and then, in 1867, he came to Jasper 
county, Missouri, locating at Carthage. He remained here but a short time, 
however, and in 1868 returned to Ohio, but in the same year again took up 
his abode in Jasper county, where he has ever since remained. After taking 
up his permanent abode here he located on a tract of wild and unimproved 
land. His home farm now comprises two hundred and twenty acres, and he 
also owns another place of three hundred and twenty acres, his land being 
located in Mineral, Joplin and Union townships. His farms are under a 
high state of cultivation, and his fertile and well tilled fields annually yield 
to the owner a handsome financial return. In addition to< his extensive farm- 
ing - operations he also has an interest in the Portoi Rico< lease, which he estab- 
lished in 1898. and in this branch of his business he is also meeting with a high 
degree of success. Mr. Shaffer is a man of keen discrimination and sound 
judgment, of unfaltering perseverance and unflagging enterprise, and through 
the possession of these qualities has gained rank among the foremost business 
men of his state. 

In the year 1868 he was united in marriage with Fannie Koontz, a native 
of Fairfield county, Ohio. They became the parents of six children, five O'f 
whom are now living, namely: Stella E., wife 01 Robert Black; John F., a 
prominent resident of Carthage; Harry G. and Russell I., also residents of 
Carthage; and Ernest, who is still at home. The wife and mother was called 
to the home beyond on the 25th of October, 1900, and her loss was deeply 
mourned not only by her immediate family, but throughout the locality, for 
her noble characteristics had won for her many warm friends. In his politi- 
cal affiliations Mr. Shaffer votes with the Republican party. He is a man 
of strict integrity, and well and favorably known in Jasper county, and his life 
illustrates what may be accomplished through determined effort, perseverance 
and capable management. 



>/ 



JAMES M. SMITH. 



Many men well known in Missouri were born in Illinois and own to a 
son's regard for their mother state. One such is James M. Smith, of Car- 
terviile, Jasper county, Missouri, who has been mining in the county for 
thirteen years, during ten years of which time he has been mining and pros- 
pecting on his own account. 

James M. Smith was a son of Joel and Anna (Krutzinger) Smith. His 



374 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

father, a native of Virginia, eventually came to Newton county, Missouri, 
where he now owns a good farm. His wife was a native of Clay county, 
Illinois, but was descended from old Pennsylvania stock. Their son, Will- 
iam M. Smith, brother of the subject of this sketch, is connected with the 
latter's mining enterprises. 

Mr. Smith came from his native town in Clay county, Illinois, at the 
age of seventeen, and soon afterward began mining. For three years he 
was superintendent for the Union Mining Company at Carterville. He 
opened up the R. R. mine on the Perry lease, and is now operating the Won- 
der mine on the Beckwith-PIall land at Prosperity. This mining property 
comprises ten acres and a one-hundred-ton mill, and four shafts are worked 
there. His knowledge of mining is comprehensive and his attention to busi- 
ness has been so strict as to be extraordinary, and, all in all, his success has 
been most marked. 

Mr. Smith married Miss Laura Smith, daughter of Cornelius Smith, 
an earl)- settler and farmer of Newton county, Missouri, and they have had 
four children born to them : Otho, Ethel, Chalmers and an infant son. Mr. 
Smith is a Woodman of the World and a member of the Order of Pyramids, 
and is highly respected as a citizen of much patriotism and public spirit. 



* w. w. Mcdowell. 

For many years W. W. McDowell has been one of the leading men of 
Jasper county. His residence is on section 12, in Twin Grove township, 
where he owns a fine farm of seventy-seven acres. The birth of Mr. Mc- 
Dowell was in Virginia, on May 17, 1833, and he was a grandson of James 
McDowell, who was born in Ireland and came to America while still a 
young man. The parents of our subject were James and Sophia (Hall) 
McDowell, the former of whom was born in Kentucky, although he was 
reared in Virginia, and was a farmer by occupation. In 1836 he removed 
his family to Montgomery county, Indiana, and in 1868 he came to Kansas, 
dying there in his eighty-ninth year. He took an active part both in politics 
and religion, being a Whig, and later a Republican, and in the latter was one 
of the leaders in the Methodist church, in which he was a valued member for 
over fifty years and was a man of unblemished character through life. The 
mother of our subject was born and reared in Ohio. Her father was William 




W. W. MC DOWELL. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 377 

Hall, who was in the Revolutionary war. James McDowell participated in the 
war of 1812 and both he and his wife were for long years connected with the 
Methodist church. Her death occurred when she was about sixty-three years 
old. Eleven children were born to the parents of our subject, five daughters 
and six sons, and nine of these grew to maturity. 

Our subject was three years old when his parents moved to Indiana,, 
and there he was reared and attended the common schools in Montgomery 
and Tippecanoe counties, and was engaged in farming at the outbreak of the 
Civil war. In 1862 he responded to the call for troops and enlisted for service 
in Company G, Twenty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was mus- 
tered out and received his honorable discharge after a faithful service of 
three years and four months. During this time he had taken part in some 
of the greatest battles of the war, was present at the taking of Yicksburg and 
was also at Prairie Grove, Arkansas. A very unpleasant period was passed 
in Louisiana, when he was in a hospital under treatment for smallpox. 

After the close of the war Mr. McDowell went to Livingston county, Illi- 
nois, and in 1866 moved to Kansas, and in 1868 removed to Jasper county, 
Missouri. His home in Kansas was in Cherokee county, very near the state- 
line. He now has a farm of seventy-seven acres, which he rents, and he also 
owns a fine farm of one hundred and fifty-five acres in Kansas, the deed 
being signed by President Ulysses S. Grant. 

In politics our subject has always voted with the Republicans, but being a 
strong temperance man, and believing that legislation must cure many of 
the evils from which the country suffers on account of drink, lie has attached 
himself to the Prohibition party. His connection with the Methodist church 
has been long and consistent, and he is one of its faithful stewards. Socially 
he belongs to Cameron Garrett Post, No. 115, G. A. R. 

Mr. McDowell was married in April, 1870, in Jasper county, to Mis? 

Lydia Stiers, who was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, in November, 1838. 

She was a daughter of John and Rachel (Cline) Stiers, the former of whom 

was born in Pennsylvania, who later moved to Ohio and in 1847 moved to 

Jackson county, Missouri, and in the spring of 1848 to Jasper county, and 

settled on the farm our subject now occupies. Mrs. Stiers was born in \ ir- 

ginia and became the mother of six children, three sons and three daughters. 

Mrs. McDowell was the second child and the oldest daughter and she was 

reared and educated in Jasper county. To Mr. and Mrs. McDowell three 

children were born, the surviving one being Irene, who reside- at home. She. 

is a member of the Relief Corps. 
20 



373 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

THOMAS K. IRWIN. 

A glance at the history of past centuries will indicate at once what would 
he the condition of the world if the mining interests no longer had a part in 
the industrial and commercial life. Only a few centuries agx> agriculture was 
almost the only occupation of man. A landed proprietor surrounded himself 
with his tenants and his serfs, who tilled his broad fields while he reaped 
the reward of their labors ; but when the rich mineral resources of the world 
were placed upon the market industry found its way into new and broader 
fields, minerals were used in the production of hundreds of inventions, and 
the business of nations was revolutionized. When considering these facts 
we can in a measure determine the value to mankind of the mining' interests. 
One who is connected with the rich mineral resources of southwestern Mis- 
souri is Thomas K. Irwin, and his labors have not only contributed to his 
individual prosperity, but have also promoted the general welfare. 

A native of Sangamon county, Illinois, he was born about ten miles from 
the city of Springfield, April 13, 1838, a son of Hugh B. and Priscilla (Kyle) 
Irwin. His paternal grandfather, Lindsey S. Irwin, died in Sangamon 
county about 1846, and his wife, who bore the maiden name of Rachel Kazine, 
passed away in the same locality, where they had located in pioneer times, 
aiding in the early development and improvement O'f that portion oi Illinois. 
Hugh B. Irwin was born in North Carolina in 1812, and in 1820 accompanied 
his parents on their removal to Sangamon county, where he was reared to 
farm life — an occupation which he followed throughout his own business 
career. He passed away in 1852, but his wife, who> was born in Hamilton 
county, Ohio, in 1820, long survived him, her death occurring in 1896, when 
she had reached the advanced age of seventy-six years. 

Thomas K. Irwin spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Sangamon 
and Menard counties, Illinois, where he attended the common schools, thus 
acquiring a fair English education. He remained on the old homestead 
until his marriage, which occurred in 1866, Miss Anna M. Cox, of Cass 
•county, Illinois, becoming his wife. The young couple began their domestic 
life upon a farm and there remained until 1871, when they came to Jasper 
county, Missouri, locating on a tract of land nine miles east of Carthage. 
At that place Mr. Irwin opened up and improved a good farm, and for some 
time devoted his energies to the cultivation of the crops best adapted to the 
soil and climate. He also, engaged in raising and handling stock, feeding 
to some extent and shipping to the city markets. In 1883 he sold his farm 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 379 

and removed to Carthage, and in connection with others he organized the 
Southwestern Candy & Cracker Company, conducting the enterprise until 
1884, when the plant was destroyed by fire and he lost everything that he 
had made and saved. 

Mr. Irwin, in order to gain a new start in business, then engaged in 
auctioneering for a time, and when he had made a little money he formed 
a partnership with F. D. Porter in the grocery business, which they carried 
on from 1886 until 1890, when Mr. Irwin retired from mercantile life to 
enter upon the discharge of his official duties, having been appointed post- 
master of Carthage by President Harrison. He capably served for four 
years, retiring from the office in 1894 as he had entered it — with the confi- 
dence and good will of the public. He then formed a partnership with J. W. 
Ground, under the firm name of Ground & Irwin, and turned his attention to 
mining. They leased land and opened up the famous Dunning mine, one 
among the best producers of the county. In 1897 they sold the property for 
a quarter of a million dollars. Mr. Irwin is otherwise largely interested in 
mining and from his mines receives a royalty which annually returns to- him 
a good income. He has made judicious investments in mining property, 
and as the result of his business sagacity and enterprise he is now numbered 
among the men of Jasper county who are in affluent circumstances. 

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Irwin has been blessed with two sons 
and two daughters : Edward H., who is engaged in the mutual insurance busi- 
ness in Topeka, Kansas; Ula H., the wife of James Lane, of Joplin; Orin 
H., at school; and Myrtle H., who completes the family, which is one of 
prominence in the community, its members enjoying the high regard of many 
friends and acquaintances in this portion of the state. 

Mr. Irwin cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in i860, 
and the same ) r ear supported Richard Yates for the governorship of Illinois. 
He has always been a stanch Republican, taking an active interest in local 
and state politics. He has been a member of the executive committee and 
was chairman of the Republican congressional committee. He does all in 
his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party, being 
in hearty accord with its principles and policy. Socially he is connected 
with Carthage Lodge, No. 197, F. & A. M., and also has membership relations 
with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He now occupies a very 
fine residence which he purchased in T898 of L. M. Murphy. It is one of 
the most attractive homes of Carthage and is celebrated for its gracious 
hospitality. Splendid success has crowned the efforts of Air. Irwin, who 



33o BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

in a humble business way started out in life; yet he has overcome difficulties 
and losses, and by his indomitable perseverance and sound judgment he has 
arisen to prominence. Regarded as a citizen he belongs to that public-spirited, 
useful and helpful type of men whose ambitions and desires are centered and 
directed in those channels through which flows the greatest and most perma- 
nent good to the greatest number, and it is therefore consistent with the pur- 
pose and plan of this work that his record be given among those of the repre- 
sentative men of southwestern Missouri. 

E. LEE SCHOOLER. 

There is not and never will be better stock in America than the so-called 
Revolutionary stock. American interests are certainly safe in the hands of 
men who have descended from those who fought for American independence. 
E. Lee Schooler, of Webb City, Missouri, is a descendant of one who fought 
in the Revolutionary war to gain the nation's freedom and also of one who 
fought in the war of 1812 to maintain our country's rights. He is a son 
of Samuel and Mary (Hammel) Schooler, the former a brother of the late 
Hon. Isaac Schooler, of Jasper county, Missouri, and a grandson of the Hon. 
John Schooler, of Knox county, Ohio, long a member of the Ohio state legis- 
lature. Much that is interesting concerning the early history of his family 
is included in the biographical sketch of the Hon. John N. Schooler, which 
appears in this work. 

E. Lee Schooler was born in Mount Vernon, Knox count}', Ohio', in 
i860, and was brought by his parents to> Jasper county in 1869. The family 
located in Madison township, and Samuel Schooler became prominent in pub- 
lic affairs and served his fellow citizens for two terms as tax collector of Jas- 
per county and for years filled the office of justice of the peace. He died at 
Carthage, Missouri, in the year 1900, aged seventy-four years. His widow, 
who was a native of Knox county, Ohio 1 , is living in Madison township. 
Their son, W. Ross Schooler, a blacksmith, is a prominent citizen of Madi- 
son township. Another son, I. N. Schooler, is employed by the telephone 
company at Carthage, Missouri. Their daughter, Mrs. Callie West, lives in 
Salem, Oregon. 

E. Lee Schools is superintendent of the American Zinc & Lead Smelt- 
ing Company, operating at Center Valley, where it has valuable leases cover- 
ing three hundred and twenty acres, eleven mills and about fifty shafts, with 
f< »ur pumping stations. The home office of the company is in Boston, Massa- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 38 1 

chusetts, and Mr. Schooler has been its superintendent in Jasper county for 
the past two years. He came to the county about fifteen years ago, and for 
a time was employed by the Carthage Lead & Zinc Company, of St. Louis. 
Later he was for five years superintendent for the Victor Mining Company. 
He also filled the position of superintendent for the Ashcraft-Reynolds Min- 
ing Company, and at different times had in charge mining enterprises be- 
longing to Allen Hardy, of Webb City, and H. P. Sewell, 6i Mansfield, Ohio. 
Mr. Schooler married Miss Josephine McCafferty, a native of Henry 
count}-, Iowa, and a daughter of the late George McCafferty, who came to 
Carthage in 1866 and a little later located on a farm in Duval township. 
Their son, Orion, is employed as an engineer for the American Zinc & Lead 
.Smelting Company. They have other children named Jessie, Newton and 
Eva. Air. Schooler is prominent as a Democrat, and is a member of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 



/ 



MONTALBON V. JAMES. 

There is no field of human endeavor in which perseverance and hopeful- 
ness play a more important part than in mining. The vicissitudes of the 
business are many and fortune appears to favor those most who work hard- 
est and longest. Among the successful miners at Carterville, Missouri, whose 
experiences illustrate what has been said, is Montalbon Valmore James, part 
owner and superintendent of the Gray Goose mine on the Perry lease. 

Mr. James, a son of M. M. and Mary (McKnight) James, was born 
at Carthage, Jasper county, Missouri, in 1868. E. B. James, his grandfather, 
came to Jasper county many years ago and was active in business affairs at 
Carthage when that town was built originally, partially on his land, and was 
clerk of the circuit court and filled other official positions. M. M. James, the 
father of our subject, came to that part of the state in the '40s, and, while 
devoting himself to other interests, has mined considerably. He has been 
quite active politically, and has filled the office of deputy circuit clerk of his 
county. He married Mary McKnight, a native of Missouri, born near 
Springfield. 

Mr. James was educated at the public schools of Carthage and at Kansas 
City, Missouri, where for a time he was in business. Later he was in the 
grocery trade at Carthage for two years. He has been operating the Gray 
Goose mines for two years, and has a one-hundred-ton mill and two shafts 



382 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

in connection with the plant. He is interested also in mines on the Harden 
lease at South Carthage and in mines on the Cornfield lands. 

Mr. James is popular not only in business and social circles, but in Demo- 
cratic and Masonic circles. He married Miss Olive E. Cass, daughter of 
A. A. Cass, a prominent mine owner of Carterville, and she died in 1897. 
His present wife was Miss Irene Holmes, daughter of Dr. Holmes, of Joplin, 
formerly of Garden City, Kansas. 



J 



DAVID EVERITT. 



In the year 1868 David Everitt cast in his lot with the early settlers of 
Jasper county, Missouri, and through the period which has since elapsed he 
has been an important factor in the development and progress of the state. 
He is a native of Cedes county, Illinois, born on the 23d of October, 1844. 
His paternal grandfather, John Everitt, was born in England, and followed 
farming as a life occupation. Alford Everitt, his son, the father of our sub- 
ject, was born in North Carolina, but when a child was taken by his parents 
to Indiana, and in an early day located in Illinois. He became a prominent 
medical practitioner, and for many years followed his profession in Illinois. 
In 1870 he came to Jasper county, Missouri, where he followed the practice 
of medicine for one year, and then returned to Illinois, but later went again 
to Missouri, his death occurring in Jasper county at the age of sixty-eight 
years. He followed the practice of medicine for about forty years, and dur- 
ing that time built up an extensive and lucrative business. The mother of 
our subject, nee Martha Campbell, was a native of Tennessee, and she reached 
the ripe old age of seventy years. Her father, David Campbell, was a native 
of Ireland. 

David Everitt, the fourth in order of birth of his parents' fifteen chil- 
dren, was reared in his native county in Illinois, there attending the district 
schools. In 1863 ne offered his services to the Union cause, becoming a 
member of Company K, Sixty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in which 
he served as a private. He served with his command until the long and 
terrible struggle was past, receiving an honorable discharge at Council Bluffs, 
Arkansas. During his military career he participated in the battles of Red 
River, Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Murfreesboro, Holly Springs, and many other 
hard-fought engagements. He was never wounded, but on account of ill 
health was confined in a hospital for a short time. When the country no longer 
needed his services he returned to Illinois, where he remained until 1868, — 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 383 

the year of his arrival in Jasper county, Missouri. After his arrival here he 
first located west of Joplin, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
He later abandoned the quiet pursuits of the farm for a miner's life, and was 
one of the first to mine at Webb City and at Joplin. He followed that voca- 
tion for about twenty years, operating- at Joplin, Webb City, Oronogo. Sher- 
wood and other places in the county. He at one time operated the largest 
mine at Belleville. He has bought and sold much property since coming to 
Missouri, at different times owning property in Elliott, Oronogo and Webb 
City. He now owns seventy acres of valuable and well improved land in 
Duval township, located on section 19. 

Mr. Everitt has been twice married, first, in Illinois, to Margaret Till- 
man, who did leaving one son, Alonzo. For his second wife he chose Martha 
Pierce, and that union has been blessed with one daughter, Birdie. In his 
political affiliations Mr. Everitt is a stanch supporter of Democracy, and so- 
cially he is a member of Medoc Post, G. A. R., in which he maintains pleas- 
ant relations with his old army comrades. Of the Methodist Episcopal 
church he is an active and worthy member. He is one of the pioneer miners 
of the county, and in both business and social circles he is well known, enjoy- 
ing the respect and esteem of all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. 

J MATHEW COYLE. 

In Missouri, as elsewhere, the blood of Ireland has told upon the gen- 
eral prosperity in every walk of life. Among the prominent citizens of Irish 
descent of Jasper county none is more successful or popular than the well- 
known mine operator whose name is above. Mathew Coyle was born in 
Wisconsin November 2, 1849, a son of James Coyle, who was a native of the 
Emerald Isle and settled in that state in 18:50. 

Mr. Coyle went to Joplin, Missouri, in 1873, and has been mining on his 
own account ever since. He opened a mine in the Picher field, and he and 
his brothers, Peter and Terrence, both of whom are now dead, had good 
mines also on the Gwinn and Lloyd lands, where they made strikes earlier 
than any one else and where Mr. Coyle mined for seventeen years. During 
the past five years he has operated on the O'Keefe land, where he has sunk- 
two shafts and is opening up a good plant. He has devoted himself strictly 
to mining and in a general way may be said to have achieved a good success. 

Mr. Coyle was educated in the public schools, and his early life was de- 
voted to farming. He married Miss Louisa Martin, of foplm, and their 



384 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

marriage was the first celebrated in the Roman Catholic church of that city. 
They have seven children, — Alberta, Murrel, Grover, Allie M., Mattie M., 
Beulah and Mabel. 

Mr. Coyle's knowledge of mining is as thorough and comprehensive as 
that of any man in the district, and his judgment of mines and mining prop- 
erty is excellent. He is a citizen of much public spirit, and always contrib- 
utes his full share toward the advancement of measures for the public good. 

CAPTAIN JOHN NILSON. 

Among the prosperous farmer citizens of Twin Grove township, Jasper 
county, Missouri, who have been here since 1868, is Captain John Nilson, 
who also was one of the loyal and faithful soldiers in the Civil war. Captain 
Nilson was born in Monongahela county, Pennsylvania, not far from the city 
of Pittsburg, on May 3, 1832. His father was Thomas H. Nilson, and he 
was born and reared in Pennsylvania, where he followed the trade of tailor, 
and also engaged in farming in Ohio. About 1835 he moved to Guernsey 
county, Ohio, and remained there until his death, at the age of eighty-three 
years. The mother of our subject was formerly Isabella Sawhill, who was 
born in ^'ashington county, Pennsylvania, where she grew to womanhood and 
married. She lived a devout and lovely Christian life for thirty-seven years. 
These worthy parents reared eight children, and seven of these grew to ma- 
turity and six married and reared families of their own. 

Our subject was the oldest of the children, and was about three years 
of age when his parents moved to Ohio, where he was reared and educated 
and learned the trade of harnessmaker, serving an apprenticeship of four 
years. In 1854, when he was about twenty-two years old, he went to Jeffer- 
sonville, Indiana, and moved thence to Jackson county, same state, where he 
established his saddle and harness business. He had located a tract of land 
there, also, but at the outbreak of the war was not engaged in farming. 

The year 1861 witnessed a change in the plans of many young men who 
had the brightest prospects for the future, and one among these was our 
subject. Intensely loyal to the Union, he enlisted in Company G, Twenty- 
fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for service, and was appointed eighth cor- 
poral, from which he was later promoted as first duty sergeant, second lieu- 
tenant, first lieutenant and finally captain. At Snake Creek Gap he had com- 
mand of the left wing of, the regiment during the battle. He also took part 
in the battles of Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, siege of Corinth, Mata- 




JOHH HILSOH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 3§7 

.mora, Bentonville (North Carolina), Snake Creek Gap (Georgia), siege of 
Atlanta and the taking of Jonesboro, same state ; also the siege of Savannah, 
Georgia, at which place he was detailed to command one company of every! 
regiment of General Force's division to go out along the Florida Railroad 
to forage for cattle and destroy a bridge. He was afterward complimented 
by General Force for the manner in which he executed the errand. He, being 
the senior officer, had to take command. February 29, 1864, at Canton, 
Mississippi, he re-enlisted as a veteran, and finally he was honorably discharged, 
July 17, 1865, at Louisville, Kentucky. He was never seriously wounded, but 
was twice struck by spent balls. 

Captain Nilson then returned to Jackson county, Indiana, and resumed 
his former occupation, but in 1868 he came, by wagon, to Jasper county, Mis- 
souri ; the next year he returned to Indiana and the year after that he brought 
his family here, locating permanently upon a farm which he has owned and 
occupied ever since. The first three years here he lived in a log cabin, which 
he had erected before bringing out his family. He engaged vigorously in 
the improvement of his wild prairie land, where he had selected his home, and 
he was obliged to face many difficulties and overcome many formidable ob- 
stacles. He is now the owner of two hundred and seven and a half acres 
•of some of the best land in Twin Grove township, while the improvements rank 
with many in the county. He has indeed a cosy home. 

Captain Nilson was married in Jackson county, Indiana, on September 
9, 1858, to Miss Charity Hunsucker, who was born and married in her old 
home in Jackson county, her birth occurring on September 3, 1840. She 
was a daughter of John and Rosamond (Wedell) Hunsucker, the former of 
whom was born in North Carolina, while the latter was born in Tennessee. 
Captain and Mrs. Nilson were the parents of eight children, these being: 
Oscar M., who married Lillie (Wood) Downs; Walter B., a mute, who is 
engaged in conducting a planingmill in Carl Junction, and married Sarah 
E. Haley, of Osgood, Missouri, by whom he has five children; William S., 
who married Sadie Grim, resides in Abbeville, Louisiana ; Mrs. Eva N. Haley, 
who has four children; Oliver C, a mute, who is married to Delia Cummings, 
of Coffeyville, Kansas, and has one son, and is also engaged in the planingmill 
at Carl Junction ; Mrs. Anna N. DeGarmo ; Marshall Kerr, who married Mattie 
Ricks, who was a daughter of M. Ricks, of Mansfield, Louisiana; and Jasper 
E., who is the cashier of Bank oi Covington, Louisiana. 

Captain Nilson continues his farming operations. In politics he has al- 
ways been an ardent Republican, and he has the pleasure of knowing that 



388 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

both sons and sons-in-law follow the same political lines. He has taken a 
prominent part in civic affairs, has been school director twenty-five years and 
justice of the peace two terms, and has been one of the progressive and en- 
ergetic citizens who have been an honor to the county. His position of high 
esteem in Cameron Garrett Post, No. 115, G. A. R., has been established 
by the honors given him, as he has been its beloved commander. In the Pres- 
byterian church Captain Nilson has long been a leading member, was one of 
its organizers in this locality, is an elder in the same, and has done much 
for its support. No one is better known or more highly respected through the 
county. 

1 ISAAC C. WHEELER 

The last twenty years have witnessed a. wonderful improvement in the 
methods of brick manufacture, and this improvement has resulted in better 
brick and a larger output. One of the leading manufacturers of building 
brick in this part of the state is Isaac C. Wheeler, of Carthage, Jasper county, 
Mr. Wheeler was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, February 29, 
1844, a son of Nathan and Margaret (Millikin) Wheeler, both natives of that 
state. In 1855 the family removed to Indiana and settled on a farm in 
Morgan county, where Mrs. Wheeler died in 1858. Later Nathan Wheeler 
removed to Kansas, and in 1885 he died while visiting at the house or his 
son. The grandfather of our subject in the paternal line was J. L. Wheeler, 
a native of North Carolina, who married Miss Phebe Stevens. His grand- 
father in the maternal line was Benjamin Millikin, a native of North Carolina, 
who' married a Miss Bales. 

Isaac C. Wheeler passed his early days on his father's farm and gained 
a fair education in the public schools. Later he learned the trade of a brick- 
layer in Hendricks county, Indiana. He went to Carthage, Missouri, the 
first time in 1868, and in the following spring he located there permanently 
and engaged in contracting and building. In 1881 he began manufacturing 
building brick, and in 1884 his business had grown to such proportions that 
he was able to manufacture twenty-five thousand bricks in a working day 
of ten hours. His plant is active from April to October each year, and he 
has not only built up a larg'e local trade, but ships many brick to different 
parts of Missouri. The output is of a superior quality, his clay bed being 
six feet deep and one of the best in the country. 

In the spring of 1873 Mr. Wheeler married Miss Sarah I. Winn, a 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 389 

daughter of John Winn and a native of the state of Illinois, then living at 
Carthage. Air. and Mrs. Wheeler have four children : Ina V. is a member 
of her parents' household. Willis I. assists his father about his business. 
Arthur G. and Mary L. are acquiring an education. Mr. Wheeler is recog- 
nized as a man of sound judgment, who exerts a good influence upon the 
community, and he was for five years a member of the board of education 
of the city of Carthage and for three years a member of the city council. 
In politics he is a Republican, and his religious faith is indicated by his mem- 
bership in the Methodist Episcopal church. 

{ 

JOHN H. FLANIGAN. 

Whatever else may be said of the legal fraternity, it cannot be denied 
that members of the bar have been more prominent actors in public affairs 
than any other class of the community. This is but the natural result of 
causes which are manifest and require no explanation. The ability and train- 
ing which qualify one to practice law also qualify him in many respects for 
duties which lie outside the strict path of his profession and which touch the 
general interests of society. Holding marked precedence among the members 
of the bar of Jasper county is the Hon. John H. Flanigan, of Carthage. 

He was born in Almont, Michigan, July 4, 1857. His father, James 
Flanigan, was a native of the Emerald Isle, and in early boyhood became a 
resident of the United States. He married Olive M. Hogan, a native of 
New York and a daughter of Jonas Hogan. The father of our subject was 
a farmer by occupation, and in 1866 removed from Almont, Michigan, to 
Jasper county, locating upon a farm which he made his home for a number 
of years, when he took up his abode in Carthage, where he now resides. His 
wife died m this city in 1893. 

John H. Flanigan spent his boyhood upon the farm and for a time pur- 
sued his education in the district schools, but later became a student in the 
public schools of Carthage, completing the high-school course. In 1874 he 
returned to Michigan, where he was employed on a farm and in various other 
ways, spending eight years in his native state. He then again came to Jas- 
per county, and after working as a farm hand for a short time he came to 
Carthage and after a brief interval began the study of law under the direc- 
tion of T. B. Hargrant. On the 25th of March, 1881, he was admitted to 
the bar, and immediately afterward he began practice in Carthage, where he 
soon established a good business in the line of his profession. 



390 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

On the 6th of May, 1883, Mr. Flanigan wedded Mary F. Leedy, of 
Springfield, Missouri, a daughter of A. G. Leedy, a prominent architect and 
builder. They now have two sons, John H. and Lon P. In his social rela- 
tions Mr. Flanigan is a Knight of Pythias, and politically he is a stalwart 
Republican. As the nominee of his party he was elected to represent his 
district in the state legislature, and twice since then he has been the candidate 
for the office, but the Democratic majority of Jasper county was too great 
to be overcome by the Republican forces. He is actively engaged in the 
practice of law and his clientage is of a distinctively representative charac- 
ter, connecting him with much of the important litigation tried in the courts 
of his district. He is a deep and logical reasoner, strong in argument and 
forceful in reasoning-, and in the trial of his causes has won many notable 
forensic victories. 

JOHN N. SCHOOLER. 

Huguenot blood has been a virile factor in American patriotism and 
progress. From Huguenot ancestry is descended Hon. John N. Schooler, 
of Madison township, Jasper county. His father, Isaac Schooler, was born 
in Pennsylvania March 5, 181 1, a son of John Schooler, who- settled in Knox 
county, Ohio, in 1816, and became prominent in public affairs there, repre- 
senting his district several years in the state legislature. He had served his 
country as a soldier in the war of 18 12, and his father had fought for Ameri- 
can independence in the Revolutionary war. Isaac Schooler married Sarah 
De Hart, and came from Knox county, Ohio, to Jasper county, Missouri, 
in 1857, arriving on the 15th of October. He located on the farm now" known 
as the Schooler homestead, which contains eight hundred acres and is now 
the home of the subject of this sketch. The Schooler homestead has been 
the residence of the family since 1857 until the present time, except for a 
certain period during the Civil war. Isaac Schooler died 011 this place in 
1895, aged eighty-four years. He was for four years county judge of Jas- 
per county, Missouri. Pie was active and prominent as a Republican, and 
it may be said of him literally that he had no enemies. His widow, who still 
lives on the old homestead, was born at Mount Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, 
July 31, 1 8 14, and is so well preserved that she appears to be scarcely sixty 
years old. Her father was William De Hart, who went to Knox county, 
Ohio-, in 1814, from Middlesex county, New Jersey, where he was born. Her 
grandfather, William De Plart, Sr., was a Revolutionary hero who was killed 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 391 

at the battle of Monmouth. He was a French Huguenot, who sought per- 
sonal liberty in Holland and came thence in quest of broader opportunities- 
to> America and located in New Jersey. 

The following- facts relative to the children of Isaac and Sarah (De Hart) 
Schooler will be found interesting in this connection. The Hon. John N. 
Schooler, of whom more will be said further on, was the second in order of 
birth. William R. Schooler, of Sheridan township, Jasper county, has ably 
served his fellow citizens as county judge. He married Ida Whittemore and 
has eight children. Adaline Schooler, eldest child of her parents, married 
Daniel Taylor, of Jasper county, and is now dead. Her son, Edwin M. Tay- 
lor, of Madison township, lives with his uncle, the Hon. John N. Schooler, 
and is the owner of two hundred acres of land. Catherine Schooler married. 
Lee Gray, of Jasper county. Their grandson, William B. Gray, was reared 
as a member of the family of the Hon. Isaac Schooler. 

The Hon. John N. Schooler was born in Allen county, Ohio, December 
l 7> ^38- He was educated in his native state, and came with his parents 
to Jasper county in 1857, when he was nineteen years old. He has all his 
life farmed and managed the homestead farm. Long prominent in local 
politics as a Republican, he was elected a member of the thirty-second general 
assembly of the state of Missouri, in which body he served with distinguished 
credit, with an eye single to the best interest of his constituents. He has 
long been a Mason. 

Mr. Schooler was married March 25, 1866, to Miss Mary Jane Home- 
wood, of Ringgold county, Iowa. Their daughter Nettie L. is a member of 
her father's household, and their daughter Mary L. is the wife of Lou L. 
Fox, of Sheridan township, Jasper county. Mrs. Schooler died in 1872, aged 
thirty-four years. In 1876 Mr. Schooler married Miss Clara L. Murphy, 
of Carthage, Missouri. Their daughter Kate married Ernest A. Edwards,, 
of Jasper county, Missouri. Their son Frank J. and their daughter Cora 
M. are members of their father's household. 



J 



JAMES B. NICHOLS. 



One of the leading mine owners and operators of Jasper county is James 
B. Nichols, a native of Newton county, Missouri. His father, James Nich- 
ols, removed from South Carolina to Newton county befor the Civil war, 
where he became a prominent and well-known citizen. James B., our sub- 
ject, came to Webb City, Jasper county, in 1891, where he has since been- 



392 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

engaged in mining operations. He has opened np and developed some of the 
richest mines in his locality, and for fifteen years he has been engaged with 
but three companies. Before locating here he was engaged in mining at 
Sherwood for a considerable period. For six years he served as superintend- 
ent of the Mound City Mining Company of St. Louis, was superintendent of 
the Nugget Mining Company, at Oronogo, for three years, and is now operat- 
ing the Jordan & Gray mine, which has a shaft one hundred and seventy feet 
deep and a seventy-five-ton mill. 

Mr. Nichols, was united in marriage with Miss Delia Kibler, a native of 
Illinois, and they have five children, namely : Frank A. and Charles, who 
are engaged in business with their father; Ray, Fred and Minnie, who are 
attending school. Socially Mr. Nichols is a member of the Ancient Order 
of Pyramids and of the Red Men. He is a man whose reliability and integrity 
are beyond question, and he merits the respect and esteem which are so univer- 
sally accorded him in the community where he lives and in whose advance- 
ment he maintains a lively interest. 

n| THOMAS E. GRAY. 

Prominent among the early pioneers and leading business men of Car- 
thage, Missouri, is Thomas E. Gray, who for many years has been closely 
identified with the history of the city. He was born upon a farm in Calloway 
county, Missouri, July 7, 1839, and is a son of William Gray, whose birth oc- 
curred in Pennsylvania in 1806. The latter married Miss Ann Wiseley, of 
Wytheville, Wythe county, Virginia. After residing in New Albany, Indi- 
ana, for two. years, they came to< Missouri, locating in Calloway county upon 
a farm, where the father died in 1845. His widow afterward married George 
Becopkers, and died in 1874. In the family of William Gray and his wife 
were ten children, seven of whom grew to years of maturity, while three are 
yet living. 

Thomas E. Gray was the ninth in order o<f birth. He spent his youth 
upon his father's farm and pursued his education in the district schools and 
in the high school of Richland. He afterward learned the carpenter's trade 
in Calloway county, and subsequently went to Boouville, Missouri, where 
he followed carpentering. In 1858 he took up his abode at Lynn Creek, 
where he engaged in the mercantile business in the service of ex-Governor 
McClurg, being thus engaged until February, 1862, when he enlisted in Com- 
pany G, Eighth Missouri Regiment, of State Militia Cavalry. He served in 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 393 

Missouri, Arkansas, the Indian Territory and the northern part of Louisiana, 
remaining- in the- army for more than three years. He was commissioned 
first lieutenant April 10, 1863, and was honorably discharged July 5, 1865. 
Mr. Gray then went to St. Louis, and from there to Lebanon, Missouri, 
where he engaged in clerking in a store. On the 20th of August, 1865, he 
came to Carthage and erected the first house built here after the clo.se of the 
war. It was a log structure, and when completed Mr. Gray opened therein 
a stock of general merchandise, beginning business before doors or windows 
were put in. He continued the enterprise for twelve months, after which he 
became interested in the lumber business. In the spring of 1867 Eugene 
O'Keefer came to Carthage, and, forming a partnership with Mr. Gray, they 
carried on general merchandising until 1874, when they sold their store, and 
the latter became interested in the loan and insurance business, which he now 
carries on successfully, having met with a gratifying degree of prosperity 
in his work. 

On the 3d of May, 1871, Mr. Gray married Iola Martin, of Carthage, 
a daughter of John S. Martin, formerly of Illinois, the daughter having beoi 
born in Vermont, that state. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gray have been born three 
children : Edwin, who is the principal of the high school ; Walter G., a dentist 
in Chicago ; and Leta, at home. In his political views Mr. Gray is a Repub- 
lican, while socially he is connected with Carthage Lodge, No. 187, F. & A. M., 
and Stanton Post, No. 16, G. A. R. 

EDWIN GRAY. 

Professor Edwin Gray, who has won a position of distinction in connec- 
tion with the educational interests of Jasper county, and who is now serving 
as principal of the high school of Carthage, was born in the city which is now 
his home August 29, 1872, and is the eldest son of Thomas E. and Iola 
(Martin) Gray. He began his education in the schools of Carthage, attending 
the high school here, and later became a student in the Manual Training School 
of St. Louis, Missouri. Subsequently he matriculated in the University of 
Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he continued his studies until his graduation 
with the class of 1895. Returning to Carthage, he became assistant teacher in 
the high school, acting as instructor in mathematics for three years. On the ex- 
piration of that period he was made teacher of chemistry and physics, at which 
time he was in charge of four hundred pupils in his different classes, in what 
k known as the public high school of Carthage. His next promotion made 



394 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

him principal, and to-day he stands at the head of the high school of his native 
city, which under his leadership has made rapid and satisfactory progress. 
Pie keeps in touch with the most advanced educational methods, and is con- 
tinually striving to benefit the schools by making the course a more thorough 
preparation for the life work of the young people who come under his instruc- 
tion. His strong mentality, keen discrimination and sound judgment have 
made him a capable educator, and he to-day occupies an enviable position in 
educational circles in southwestern Missouri. 

CAPTAIN THOMAS FISHER. 

Captain Thomas Fisher, a mine operator residing at Carl Junction, Mis- 
souri, was born in Staffordshire, England, where he attended school and 
at the age of fourteen began working in the mines, remaining in his native 
place until twenty-one years of age. He also worked in the mines at Corn- 
wall. His father was a large mine owner of the county. When the Captain 
was twenty-one years old he came to America, locating at Baltimore, and 
later went to Pittsburg, where he was in the employ of the Carnegie Steel 
Company as an assistant draftsman for one year, also serving the company 
as assistant superintendent of the mining department. Being a young and 
single man, and fond of adventure, he went west to Denver, Colorado, and 
Silver Cliff, and served for nine months as assistant superintendent of the 
Bassett mines. From there he went to Kansas and engaged in contracting for 
some time, meeting with good success. 

He remained in Kansas City for about seven years and then went to 
Joplin, Missouri, where he engaged in mining for himself, having charge of 
properties. He remained in Joplin two years and then went to southeastern 
Missouri for the Desloge Consolidated Company as their mining engineer, 
having charge of all the mining department, and was also assistant superin- 
tendent. He designed the heavy mining machinery, sunk all the shafts and put 
up all the machinery at Desloge, Missouri, remaining with this company about 
six years. He then came back to the vicinity of Joplin, where he designed 
and built a large mill, the property of the Three Friends Mining Company. 
Fie is a practical mining engineer and has handled all kinds of ore, coal, 
iron, tin, lead and zinc. He is now general manager of the Three Friends 
mines, consisting of three hundred acres of ground. They employ about forty- 
two men altogether, including all the men connected with the mine. 

While in Kansas Captain Fisher was united in marriage to Miss Mary- 




THOMAS FISHER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 397 

E. Lucas and unto them have been born six children, namely : Percy R., 
Arthur H., Ettaj Lorena, Edward and Edith. Captain Fisher has had a 
long and extensive mining experience and is considered an expert engineer, 
a man of good judgment and practical knowledge of mining in all its de- 
partments, and the mining interests entrusted to his care and management 
have thereby gained in value and importance. 

VINSON DITMORE. 

For a number of years Vinson Ditmore has been a resident of Tasper 
count}-, and has been one of the active factors in its upbuilding, progress and 
advancement. He is a successful mine owner and operator, and has won 
marked prestige in the line of his chosen work. 

Mr. Ditmore claims North Carolina as the state of his nativity, his birth 
having there occurred in Clay county, and is a member of an old and promi- 
nent family of that state. He is a son of Henry Ditmore. Our subject has 
been engaged in mining operations in Jasper county for the past four years, 
and prior to that time was employed as fireman on the St. Louis & San 
Francisco Railroad, which position he also held for four years. At that time 
the prosperous little town of Central City had not been organized. In his 
mining operations Air. Ditmore has met with a very gratifying degree of 
success, and is now recognized as one of the leaders in his line of work in 
the locality, his prosperity being the outcome of his unfaltering perseverance 
and wise judgment. He has opened up and sold many valuable mining- 
properties, and is now the owner of the Case Knife, which is also rich in its 
mineral deposits. 

Air. Ditmore was married in Georgia, Miss Williams becoming his wife. 
She is a daughter of Henry Williams. This union has been blessed by the 
presence of two children. Mr. and Mrs. Ditmore own a beautiful home in 
Central City, the hospitality of which is enjoyed by their many friends and 
acquaintances. 



i 



JOHN T. WHITWORTI-I. 



The farming interests of Jasper county are well represented by John 
Thomas Whitworth, who owns a valuable and highly improved property on 
section 24. Joplin township. His birth occurred in Overton county, Ten- 
nessee, on the 16th of December, 1861. His father, D. M. Whitworth. was 
21 



39§ BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

also a native of that state, as was his mother, Sarah C. (Chandler) Whit- 
worth. Our subject was the eldest son and second child of their four chil- 
dren. When six years of age he was brought by his parents to Jasper 
county, Missouri, the family locating" here in 1868, on the same farm on which 
our subject now resides. lie received his education in the common schools 
( .' this county, and was early taught lessons of industry, honesty and self- 
reliance, and these qualities formed the foundation upon which to rear the 
superstructure of his successful business career. When seventeen years of age 
lie made the trip from Missouri to Texas, and afterward made three other 
trips with wagons to that state, where he was engaged in ranching for three 
years, in company with Peacock Brothers and Dave Pool, who were among 
the most prominent ranchers in the Lone Star state. Mr. Whitworth now 
owns a well improved farm of one hundred and eighty acres, which is a part 
of the old Whitworth homestead, his brother, A. M., owning the other half. 
lie has met with a high degree of success in his farming operations, and he is 
m >\y classed among the prominent agriculturists of his section of the state. At 
present he is engaged in contracting and has a large contract for city sewer, 
two miles and eight hundred feet. 

Mr. Whitworth was first married to Xellie Kost, a daughter of George 
Kost, and the}' were the parents of three children — William Y., John M. and 
Sarah E. For his second wife Mr. Whitworth chose Miss Clara Snyder. His 
present wife was formerly Belle Merritt, and they have three children: Val- 
era B., and two not yet named. Mr. Whitworth exercises his right of fran- 
chise in support of the men and measures of the Democratic party, but has 
never been an aspirant for political honors, preferring to give his undivided 
time to his extensive Business interests. In his social relations he is a member 
oi the Modern Woodmen of America, at Webb City. 



* CHARLES H. TAGGART. 

No work purporting to< contain mention of any number of the pioneers 
of Jasper county, Missouri, would be at all complete without some reference 
to Charles H. Taggart, who lives on section 4, Jasper township. Mr. Taggart 
was born in Macoupin county, Illinois, February 21, 1842, a son of Joseph F. 
and Elizabeth (Owens) Taggart. His grandfather, a native of Ireland, was 
early settler in Kentucky. Joseph F. Taggart, a native of Kentucky, was 
a farmer and brick mason. He went to Macoupin county, Illinois, in 1831, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD' OF JASPER COUNTY. 399 

and died there at the age of sixty-six years. Politically he was a Whig and 
afterward a Republican, and he was a devoted member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. His wife was born near Fort Donelson, Tennessee, and has 
been dead some years. She bore her husband four children, of whom the 
immediate subject of this sketch was the third in order of nativity. 

Air. Taggart was reared and educated in his native county and remained 
with his parents until 1862. On the 20th of March, of that year, he enlisted 
in Company C, Thirty-second Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with 
which he served about six months, when he was discharged for disability. 
Returning to his native county in Illinois, he engaged in farming and re- 
mained there until 1869, when he removed to Jasper county, Missouri, and 
located at Georgia City. Here he carried on agricultural pursuits and, in 
1 88 1, bought his present farm, which he has brought to a good state of im- 
provement. He gives his attention to< general farming and to stock-raising. 

In 1863 Mr. Taggart married Sarah A. Myers, a native of Licking 
county, Ohio, who had been orphaned at an early age and had been reared by 
her grandmother. They have three children : Alary I., the wife of J. P. 
Riley, of Asbury, Missouri; Albert E., principal of the public school at Waco, 
Jasper county; and Delia M., the wife of Frank L. Morrow, of Medoc, Jasper 
county. Mr. Taggart is a member of Stephen Decatur Post, No. 142, G. A. 
R., of Medoc, and has been elevated to its several chairs. He has usually 
voted the Republican ticket, but voted for the Hon. William J. Bryan for the 
presidency in 1896 and in 1900. He was tax collector of his township in 
1874 and 1875 and has filled the offices of road superintendent and special 
road overseer. A man of good judgment, his advice is sought in many im- 
portant public affairs and he is a citizen of prominence and influence. 

D. V. SHOLL. 

D. V. Sholl, superintendent and part owner of the Cow Head mine, also 
the owner of the Key West mine, came to this county only two years ago, but 
during this brief period he has won an enviable reputation in the business and 
social circles of the locality. A native of the Buckeye state, he first opened 
his eyes to< the light of day in Van Wert county. His father was a native of 
Pennsylvania, while his mother was born in the far-off country of Germany, 
her birth having occurred in Saxony. 

D. V. Sholl, of this review, came to Jasper county in April, 1899, Dut 
while a resident of his native state he became prominently and widely known 



4 oo BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

as a practical machinist. For a number of years he was employed by the 
.Acme Sucker Rod Company, of Toledo., Ohio, of which Sam Jones was pres- 
ident, having charge of gas and gasoline engines in the field work. He also 
invented a friction clutch pully for gas engines in the oil fields, which is the 
only one of its kind manufactured. Since coming to Jasper county Mr. Sholl 
has given his attention principally to mining operations, and he maintains his 
residence at Joplin. For the past five months he has been operating the Cow 
Head mine, which is a paying property, containing a one-hundred-ton mill, 
with two shafts, one one hundred and eighty-five and one one hundred and 
twenty feet in depth. He is also interested in the Keystone mine, containing 
forty acres o>f land, and this is also< a very paying piece of property. Mr. Sholl 
opened up the Grace Mining property, an which was erected a large mill, and 
at the same time he served as superintendent of the Edith Mining Company, 
operating in Chitwood Hollow, northwest of Joplin, on the Granby land. He 
was also* very active in developing the rich mineral resources on the W. R. 
Hunt land, north o>f Belleville. His interests are thoroughly identified with 
thoise O'f the west, and at all times he is ready to lend his aid and co-operation 
to any movement calculated to benefit his section of the country or advance its 
wonderful resources. 

n! JOHN M. BROWNING. 

Peculiar interest always attaches to' the pioneer in any locality and he is 
honored not alone for what he has accomplished for himself but for what, 
by opening the way oi development and civilization, he has enabled others to 
accomplish. John M. Browning, one of the pioneers of Jasper township, 
jasper count)', Missouri, is a recipient from his fellow citizens of the esteem 
which is due the men of the class referred to. Mr. Browning, who lives on 
section 26, in the township mentioned, was born in Adams county. Illinois, 
April 16, j 850, a son of Joshua and Huldah (McBride) Browning. Asa 
Browning, father o>f Joshua and grandfather of John M. Browning, was a 
pioneer in Adams county, Illinois. His father was a native of Licking county, 
Ohio, and, when a boy, was taken by his parents to Adams county, Illinois. 
In 1865 he removed to Knox county, Missouri, where he died at the age of 
fifty-eight years. His wife was a native of Union county, Illinois, and lived 
to the age of thirty-six years. They were the parents oi eight children, of 
whom the subject of this. sketch was the eldest. 

When his parents removed to' Knox county, Missouri, John M. Brown- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY. 401 

ing was fifteen years old. He remained at home until he was twenty years 
of age, assisting his father and attending the common schools near by as occa- 
sion offered. He then went to Texas, where he arrived with a cash capital 
of seventy-five cents and where his first employment was at cutting cord wood. 
He there remained one year, and at the expiration of that time, in company 
with two of his cousins, he drove a bunch of cattle to Kansas. By frugality 
he was soon able to- buy forty head of cattle, which he handled advantageously 
and bought other cattle, continuing in the business about four years. In 1875 
he brought sixty-five head of cattle to Missouri, where he sold them and 
bought the farm on which he now lives. 

In 1875 Mr. Browning married Lucy L. Sperry, a native of Wisconsin, 
then living- in Missouri, and immediately afterward took up his residence on 
his farm in Jasper township. Mrs. Browning's parents, Erastus and Eliza- 
beth (Hampton) Sperry, removed from Wisconsin to Illinois, thence to Kan- 
sas and thence, in 1875, to Jasper county, Missouri, whence, in 1897, they 
went to California, where they now live. Mrs. Browning is their second 
child and eldest daughter. They have had seven children, five of whom are 
living: Joshua, Rhoda, Raymond, Alvah and May. Their oldest child, 
Maud, married Lewis Baker, and died in California. Their third child, 
Marion, died at the age of twelve years. Mr. and Mrs. Browning have one 
granddaughter, Iva Baker, who lives with Mr. and Mrs. Sperry, in California. 

Mr. Browning's farm consists of one hundred and sixty acres, well im- 
proved and equipped, and he has given his attention to general farming with 
good success. Politically he is a Populist and he has always been active in 
affairs of his town and county. He has been twice elected road commissioner 
and is filling his third term in the office of school director and constable. He 
is a Woodman of the World and a member of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. 



4 



D. W. SCHOOLCRAFT. 



D. W. Schoolcraft, a lumber merchant of Jasper, whose business success 
is the deserved reward of his own industry, diligence and capable management, 
was born near Binghamton, in Broome county. New York, February 27, 
1842, and is a representative of one of the oldest families of the Empire state, 
his ancestors having- located there in the period of its pioneer development. 
His father, Adam Schoolcraft, was born in Schoharie county, Xew York, in 
1800, and was the youngest in a family of six sons. He was the only one 



402 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY. 

who left the state, the others all living and dying there. In his native county 
he was reared, and early became familiar with the work of the farm, which 
he made his life occupation. In Schoharie county he was married to Hannah 
Chapman, who was born and reared in New York and was of English descent. 
About 1840 the} - became residents of Broome county, and after seven years 
passed there emigrated westward, locating about seventy-five miles west of 
Chicago, upon government land, in Boone county, Illinois. There he devel- 
oped and improved a farm, but his last days were passed in Belvidere, that 
state, where he died at the age of sixty years, his remains being interred in the 
cemetery at that place. His wife died in Juneau county, Wisconsin, at the 
advanced age of eighty-four years. They were the parents of four daughters 
and three sons, and with the exception of one daughter all reached mature 
years. 

The youngest son and sixth child of the family was D. W. Schoolcraft, 
who was about five years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Illinois. 
He was therefore reared in Boone county and enjoyed such educational privi- 
leges as the district schools of the time afforded. He started out to make his 
own living at the age of eighteen years, working by the month on a farm for a 
short time. He was a newsboy on the first train that ran out of Chicago over 
the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and for a year devoted his energies to 
that work, after which he engaged in clerking in various states. In 1861 he 
began serving as clerk for his brother, who was postmaster at Bement, Illi- 
nois, and with him remained until 1866, after which he removed to Rockford, 
Illinois, where he was engaged in the grocery and crockery business for two 
years. On the expiration of that period he sold his store and went to- Waverly, 
Iowa, where he again engaged in clerking, removing thence to Mbnticello> 
Iowa, where he owned an agricultural implement store for two years. Selling 
out, he next went to Parkersburg, Butler county, Iowa, where he engaged in 
the produce business, in general merchandising and also in dealing in real 
estate. He made his home in that place for ten years, and then, disposing of 
his interest, he purchased a farm and began buying and shipping stock, which 
pursuit he followed until 1888. Accompanied by his family he then went to 
Los Angeles, California, and spent five years in that city, coming thence direct 
to Jasper county, Missouri. Since 1893 he has been proprietor of a lumber 
yard at Jasper, and is now receiving a liberal patronage. The enterprise has 
been attended with prosperity from the beginning and the systematic and hon- 
orable business methods which he has followed insure to him a continuance of 
the success which is now his. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 403 

In 1873 occurred the marriage of Mr. Schoolcraft and Miss Fanny A. 
Howenstein, who was born and reared in Bucyrus, Crawford county, Ohio. 
They have two sons : Frank H., who is bookkeeper for the Culver Lumber & 
Manufacturing- Company, at Kansas City. Missouri; and D. William, who is 
assisting his father. In addition to his lumber interests Mr. Schoolcraft has 
property in Jasper and a fine farm in Barton county. He began life a poor 
boy, without capital save his determination and creditable ambition. He has 
steadily worked his way upward, and his close application, industry and reso- 
lute purpose have enabled him to overcome obstacles and in a successful com- 
petition with other business men win a fair share of the public patronage. 
In politics he is a Republican, and fraternally is a Mason, holding member- 
ship with the craft through a period of thirty years. 

V DAVID MILLER. 

Among the veterans of the Civil war who have a home in Jasper county 
none is better known or more highly honored than David Miller, of Carthage, 
some account of whose career deserves a place in this work. 

Mr. Miller was born at Hebron, Porter county, Indiana, December 13, 
1843. a son of Isaac and Susan (Dinwiddie) Miller. His father, a native 
of Pennsylvania, early in life accompanied his parents to Indiana, where he 
married and became a well-to-do farmer and stockman. He now lives at Val- 
paraiso, Indiana. Mr. Miller's mother, who died in i860, was a daughter 
of Thomas Dinwiddie, who was of Scotch-Irish descent, and came from the 
same stock, a representative of which gave Dinwiddie county, Virginia, it; 
name. Thomas Dinwiddie married a native of Pennsylvania, of Pennsvlv 
Dutch extraction. 

David Miller passed his boyhood in Porter county, Indiana, and learned 
the trade of carpenter there. In May, 1861, he enlisted'in Company H, Ninth 
Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which was under command of Colonel 
Milroy. After three months' service, mostly in West Virginia, the regiment 
re-enlisted and was sent to Virginia, where it became a part of the Army of 
Virginia and participated in the fights at Greenbrier and Buffalo Mountain 
and in other engagements in Virginia. Later the regiment was included in 
the Department of Tennessee and there took part in the fighting at Cumber- 
land and in the historic two clays' fight at Shiloh, April 6 and 7. 1862, where 
he received a gunshot wound in the left hand which disabled him so that he 
was sent home to Indiana on a furlough. Lie rejoined his regiment in Ten- 



40 4 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

nessee, and was soon wounded again and sent to a hospital at Chattanooga, 
where he remained for some time. After he rejoined his regiment again he 
look part in the battles at Franklin and Nashville. From Tennessee the regi- 
ment was ordered to Victoria, Texas, where it was mustered out of the service 
October, 1865. 

Returning to Indiana, he was shortly afterward married to Miss Helen 
R. Brayton, of Kendall ville, that state. Four children were born of this mar- 
riage : Everett M. ; Mabel C. ; Falley B. (deceased), and Helen B. Mr. 
Miller is now engaged in the construction of iron and steel bridges and is 
located at Carthage, Missouri. 

* JOHN JOHNSON. 

One of the successful and enterprising" farmers and fruit growers of 
Jasper county is John Johnson, who owns a fine, well-improved farm of 
eighty acres of land a quarter of a mile from the corporate limits of Sarcoxie. 
By birth Air. Johnson is a Canadian, a son of John and Maria ( Hilliard) 
Johnson, the former of whom was born in Ireland, and the latter in Penn- 
sylvania. Their marriage was in Canada and after the birth of our subject 
they removed to Illinois, where their lives ended. 

John Johnson received his education in the state of Illinois, and when the 
Civil war began he entered the Union navy. After the close of his service 
he went to Nebraska and five years later came to Missouri. Here he ob- 
tained work on the railroad and he sadly needed it, as at that time he pos- 
sessed but twenty-five cents, but his industry and energy soon paved the way 
for promotion, and he was in time made a fireman on the first engine on 
the San Francisco Railroad that passed through Sarcoxie. He had previously 
become an engineer and served as such for one vear on the San Francisco 
road, but left his position in order to manage a saloon at Granby. One year 
later he entered into the employ of the Wild Brothers in the nursery busi- 
ness, and this was the beginning of what later proved to' be his true vocation. 
Fruit culture has been the business in which Mr. Johnson has prospered. 
He became interested in the raising of strawberries and in 1894 bought a 
farm of eighty acres and now cultivates thirty-five acres in berries. In 1897 
he and his partner. Judge Atkins, shipped fourteen carloads of berries, and he 
is recognized as one of the most extensive, as well as successful, growers in 
this section. General farming is not neglected, but fruit growing has proved 
more remunerative. 




JOHN JOHHSON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 407 

Mr. Johnson has been a self-made man from his earliest career. Four 
years of his life were spent in building- telegraph lines, and he has engaged 
in various pursuits, but he has always displayed the energy and industry which 
is sure to accomplish satisfactory results in the end. 

In 1877 Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Maria Bass, who was born in 
Illinois, and one daughter has been born to this union, Xellie Florence, who 
was educated in Sarcoxie and is now the wife of Walter Tidings, a farmer 
and painter of this town and they have one daughter, — Gladys. The family 
is one of the most highly esteemed in this neighbohood and the position which 
Mr. Johnson holds as a leading fruit grower has been won by years of hard 
work and close attention to business. 

,: THOMAS WIGGINS. 

When the time for retirement comes to a busy man there is even greater 
satisfaction in the thought that his gains have been made worthily than in the 
knowledge that he possesses any and that they stand between him and the 
many rainy days that may come to him before the end of his life. Such satis- 
faction as is to be derived from such a thought belongs of right to the subject 
of this sketch. Thomas Wiggins, who is now living in retirement at Car- 
thage, Jasper county, Missouri, was born in Ross county, Ohio, May 2. 1819, 
a son of Thomas and Lucy (Holdman) Wiggins. His father was born in 
England and his mother was a native of Pennsylvania, and soon after their 
marriage they settled on a farm in Ross county, Ohio, where the}' both died. 

Thomas Wiggins spent his boyhood days on his father's farm in Ross 
county, just mentioned, attending subscription schools during the winter 
months. The youngest of nine children, he was three years old when his 
father died. He was married July 4, 1841, to Miss Eleanor Parrott, of Perry 
county, Ohio. After his marriage he removed to Fulton county, Illinois, 
where, in 1842, he engaged in farming and stock-raising. After the death 
of his first wife he married Mary Flowers, the daughter of Henry and Eliza- 
beth (Gafney) Alms and the widow of Alfred Flowers, by whom she had two 
children, — William and Catherine. Mrs. Wiggins was born in Pennsylva- 
nia, but moved to Illinois when a child. After his second marriage Mr. 
Wiggins returned to Pickaway county. Ohio, where he remained until 1869, 
when he removed to Jasper county, Missouri, where he has a pleasant home. 
Henry A. Wiggins, his eldest child, resides in Carthage, where he is em- 
ployed as rural mail-carrier from that point. Amanda married Piatt Carna- 



408 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY. 

han and resides in Meeker, Colorado. Marinda is a member of her father's 
household. Thomas L. is city salesman for the Wells & Wiggins Grocery 
Company, of Carthage. Peter N. is vice-president of the Wells & Wiggins 
Grocery Company, wholesale grocers. Louisa is a saleslady for R. H. Ross, 
in the underwear department of his establishment. 

Air. Wiggins is a well-preserved gentleman of eighty-two years, whose 
memory and conversational powers are so good that he is a most interesting 
a impanion. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
Mrs. Wiggins was born in 1820, and she and her husband have lived together 
for fifty-two years. She is also* well preserved physically and mentally. 
Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins have twenty-four grandchildren and three great- 
grandchildren. 

DANIEL DWYER. 

Captain Daniel Dwyer, a mine operator of Joplin, who* has resided in this 
city since 1888, is a native of Nashua, New Hampshire. The public schools 
afforded him his educational privileges, and at an early age he became inter- 
ested in mining, with which work he has been connected throughout his entire 
life. He mastered the business both in principle and detail, and close appli- 
cation, ability and trustworthiness won him continued advancement until at 
the age of twenty years he was made manager and superintendent of a mine, 
in which capacity he has since served. His labors were carried on in the east 
for some time. Prior to coming to Joplin he was a resident of Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania, where he had charge of the mines of the Lehigh Zinc & 1 r< m 
Company, of that city. Their mines were in Sussex county. New Jersey, 
and are now being operated by the New Jersey Zinc Company. The members 
of the Lehigh Company formed the Empire Zinc Company, of Philadelphia, 
which Mr. Dwyer now represents in Joplin. 

He came to this place in 1888 and purchased for the company the Mur- 
phy smelter and two thousand acres of mining land located in different parts 
of Jasper county. For three years he managed the mines O'f the Empire 
Company, and in 1892 became manager for the Western Zinc Company and 
the Bankers' Land & Zinc Company, controlling twelve hundred acres of land 
all in one body, and also a mill property. That company lias been succeeded 
by the Missouri Lead & Zinc Company, of St. Louis. Mr. Dwyer is now 
engaged in mining in Ozark county, Missouri, and is meeting with success, 
in his operations. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 409 

In public affairs of the city he has been very prominent, and his labors 
have been of benefit in many ways. He was chairman of the citizens' meet- 
ing-, which resulted in the establishment of the Joplin Exchange and the 
placing of twelve hundred telephones. During the first year he was one of 
the directors of the exchange. He is a public-spirited citizen, who withholds 
not his aid from any movement or measure which he believes will prove of 
general good. 

Air. Dwyer was united in marriage to Miss Anna Mullin, and unto them 
have been born two sons and two daughters: Ed V. P., who is a graduate 
of the School of Mines of Missouri, and is now associated in business with 
his father; James F., who is a graduate of the Joplin Business College, and 
is now at home ; and Marie and Elizabeth, who are graduates of the Convent 
of Mercy, at Joplin, and are now at home. Mr. Dwyer and his family are 
communicants of St. Peter's Catholic church. He is a progressive repre- 
sentative of the mining interests of the county, and his own enterprise, deter- 
mination and executive ability have been the means of bringing to him pros- 
perity which he richly merits. 



ROBERT LEE McGEE. 

The success of the prominent citizen of Joplin township, Jasper county, 
Missouri, above named proves that mining is not, as some men have claimed, 
wholly a matter of luck and chance. Mr. McGee, who was born in \ u-ginia 
near the North Carolina line, where his father, \Y. \Y. McGee, was a miner, 
has had an intimate knowledge of mining from his youth, and has devoted 
all his active life to a practical study of that industry. Air. McGee"s pater- 
nal grandfather, Walter McGee, was born in Virginia in the year 1800. and 
died there in 1899, having attained the advanced age of ninety-nine years. 
Mr. McGee s mother, who was Miss Emma Hilton, was also a native of Vir- 
ginia. Air. McGee married Miss Carrie Wood, daughter of an early settler 
in Madison county, Missouri, and they have two daughters. Politically he 
is a Democrat, earnestly devoted to the principles of his part}-. He is a mem- 
ber of the order of Woodmen of the World. 

Air. AIcGee has been mining in Jasper count}-, Missouri, during the last 
fourteen years, and his name has come to be associated with good mines, of 
which he has opened several. He had charge of the mines of the Sternberg 
& Zogg Company, with headquarters at Carterville, on the Eleventh Hour, 



4 io BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

and on the Davey & Dougherty land for seven years. Later he developed 
the McGee mines at Prosperity, now known as the Batavia mines. He has 
recently bought a farm of fifteen acres, known as the Troup place, on which 
he is drilling for ore. He has lived in Joplin township for fourteen years, 
and has won the respect of all who have come to know him. After leaving 
Virginia he was long engaged in successful mining in St. Francis county, 
Missouri. 

GEORGE T. COOLEY. 

Among the prominent and successful business citizens of Joplin, Mis- 
souri, is George T. Cooley, who is vice-president of the American Concen- 
trator Company, of Joplin, which has a capital stock of one hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars. The other prominent men associated with him as officers 
are: G. H. Elmore, president; and G. B. Young, secretary and treasurer. 

The birth of Mr. Cooley was in Casey county, Kentucky, on May 31, 
1848, and he was a son of Thomas H. and Letitia (Anderson) Cooley, the 
former of whom was born in Kentucky and was a contractor and builder. 
The grandfather was John Cooley, who was a native of England. The mother 
of our subject was Letitia Anderson, who was born in Kentucky, where she 
grew to womanhood, her father and mother having been natives of Ireland 
and Germany, respectively. Four children were born to the parents of our 
subject, and he is the youngest of the family. 

When George T. Cooley was seven years old the family removed to 
Springfield, Illinois, and he was reared and educated in the city made famous 
as the home and last resting place of Abraham Lincoln. An uncle of our 
subject, by the name of Jacob Willis, had long" been acquainted with the 
Lincoln family, and came to Illinois from Kentucky in the company of the 
man who later became so illustrious. Later they were associated together 
in business operations, and Mr. Lincoln split the rails on the farm of Mr. 
Willis. At the time of the election of Mr. Lincoln to- the office of president 
of the United States our subject was still a resident of Springfield. 

After receiving a liberal education in the public schools George T. Cooley 
learned telegraphy and followed the business for a time, but his best talents 
lay in another direction, and soon he was assisting his father in contracting 
and building. Finally he entered the employ of the Union Iron Works, of 
Decatur, Illinois, and was made superintendent in the building of many plants 
both at Springfield and other points, remaining with them for six years as 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 411 

superintendent of construction. He later constructed flour mills at Alans- 
held, Pana, Taylorville, in Illinois, and at Wichita, Kansas, continuing in this 
line for four years. 

Air. Cooley then located on a farm near Kennedy, in De Witt county, 
Illinois, and there followed farming for three years, then sold, and in 1872 
removed to Missouri and located near Twin Grove on the fine property he 
now occupies, which consists of three hundred and twenty acres, all of which 
are under cultivation. About one year after he came to Jasper county he ti m >k 
an active part in the construction and rebuilding of a mill in Oronogo, and 
has erected over two hundred mills in Missouri and Kansas. 

George T. Cooley is a man of many talents and business interests. He 
is the patentee of the Cooley self-concentrating jig, and is also the patentee 
of the New Century drop-motion jig, both of these being valuable and neces- 
sary machines used in concentrating ores. He is the vice-president of the 
American Concentrating Company, which manufactures these and other mine 
machinery, and he is also the manager of the great shops, being an expert in 
mining. As a cool, careful man of business Mr. Cooley has no equal. He 
has done much toward the development of the mineral resources of this sec- 
tion, and it was principally through his efforts that the great American Con- 
centrating Company was formed. The greater part of the ore that is mined 
in southwestern Missouri, in Kansas, and also in Arkansas, is dressed by 
Mr. Cooley's methods. 

The marriage of Mr. Cooley was to Miss Lizzie Hutchins, who was a 
daughter of Charles E. and Harriet (Farris) Hutchins, and she was born near 
Kennedy, De Witt county. Illinois. Eight children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Cooley, as follows : Jessie E., the wife of Frank Brawic, of Oronogo; 
Archer R, formerly a member of the Fifth Missouri Regiment in the Span- 
ish-American war; George E., in the factory; Julian A., now attending col- 
lege; Charles F., Sidney E., Dickson R. and John. 

Mr. Cooley is a prominent man in Jasper county, well known and highly 
esteemed. He is a member of the Masonic order, is a "Shriner" and a thirty- 
second-degree Mason, and also belongs to the A. O. U. W., of Oronoo-o. 



J 



PARKER MOON. 



The life history of the one whose name heads this sketch clearly illus- 
trates what may be attained by faithful and continued effort in carrying out 
an honest purpose. It is the story of a life whose success is measured by its 
usefulness, a life that has made the world brighter and better. 



412 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Parker Moon was born near Westboro, Clinton county, Ohio, March 
31, 1842. His paternal grandfather, Joseph P. Moon, was a native of Ten- 
nessee, and when a young man he went on foot to Ohio, where he entered 
land in Clinton county, and there erected a log cabin. He subsequently re- 
turned to his native state, again making the journey on foot, and his 
wife returned with him on horseback. In this primitive log cabin Pleasant 
Moon, the father of our subject, first opened his eyes to the light of day. He 
was reared to the honest toil of the farm, and his entire life was spent in Clin- 
ton county, his death occurring at the age of sixty-three years. In 1858 he 
located on a farm in Washington township, and for twenty-seven years he 
lived on one rented farm. He rented land all his life, and during that time 
moved but three times. The mother of our subject, who' was in her maiden- 
hood Huldah Pike, was a native of Highland county, Ohio, a daughter of 
William Pike, who was a farmer by occupation. Mrs. Moon was reared in 
the county of her nativity, and her death occurred when she was forty-four 
years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Moon became the parents of sixteen children, 
four daughters and twelve sons. All of the daughters grew to womanhood 
and seven oi the sons reached years of maturity, and six of the family still sur- 
vive. The name of Moon originated at the time of King James II, who sent to 
Denmark for a body guard and adopted for an ensign a "half moon.'' After 
serving their time the body guards took the name of Moon, and two of the 
number were given positions in America, and thus the family was established 
in this country. » 

Parker Moon, the eldest son and second child of his parents' sixteen chil- 
dren, was reared in his native county, and there received his education in the 
district schools. His mother, a very devoted Christian and a prominent mem- 
ber of the Friends society, early taught him the lessons of the Bible. He was 
twenty years of age at the time of her death, and thus from early childhood 
he had been surrounded with religious influences. He has always been a 
diligent student of the Bible, having read it through before he was thirteen 
years of age, and it is to the reading of God's word that he owes his con- 
version. Indeed, it was while reading the Bible one Sabbath, while the 
family were attending church, that he was convicted of sin and then found 
peace with his God. Three years after this time the family removed to an- 
other part' of the county, where there were no- church privileges, and there 
Parker's associates were rough, profane young men. Under their influence 
he neglected his religion, but at the death of his mother her searching ques- 
tion, "Parker, what does thee want?" brought him to a full realization of his 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 413 

condition. Like the prodigal son, he "arose and went to his father," and 
after three days and nights he was received again into favor with God, receiv- 
ing a call into the Master's service. He was convinced that he was to enter 
the Sabbath-school work, and from that day he has never doubted his call 
to the field. He was soon chosen a teacher and has never since been without 
a class. 

In the spring of 1868 Mr. Moon removed to Jasper county, Missouri, 
locating east of Carthage, on what is known as the Carter farm, where he 
raised two crops. In the fall of 1870 he removed to a place northwest of 
the town, and in the following year he located on the farm which is still his 
home, on section 19, Marion township. The land was then wild and unim- 
proved, but he has since placed his fields under a fine state of cultivation, and 
all the improvements upon the place stand as monuments to> his thrift and 
ability. The year of his arrival in Jasper county, 1868, Mr. Moon assisted 
in the organization of the County Sunday-school Association, and was made 
its vice-president, having ever since been connected with this organization as 
an officer. For five successive years he served as its efficient president, and 
has spent much time in organizing new schools. In 1893 ne was chosen dis- 
trict delegate to the World's Sunday-school convention at St. Louis, and has 
also* been a delegate to two or three state conventions. While the Sabbath- 
school work has been Mr. Moon's special field of endeavor, he has not neg- 
lected the church of his choice, having a birthright in the Friends society, 
and has ever been true and loyal to- its teachings, believing that the fraternal 
spirit fostered by the Sabbath-school is in no way incompatible with true de- 
votion to one's own denomination. In 1868 he was made an elder, and 
nine years later became a minister of the gospel. In an early day in the 
southwest he assisted in organizing many branches of the church, sometimes 
riding hundreds of miles on horseback, and it has been his privilege to watch 
and assist in the progress of the church from these pioneer beginnings. For 
three years he served as superintendent of evangelistic and pastoral work in 
the Kansas yearly meeting, seventeen different churches in a territory of two 
hundred square miles having been under his charge. He has also worked 
much among the Indians. 

Mr. Moon was united in marriage in 1865 to' Alar}' Emily Green, but after 
twelve years of happy married life, as well as of mutual toil and hardships, 
the home was saddened by the death of the wife and mother. Three chil- 
dren had been born to them, — Leonidas, Harriet E. and Joseph. In Febru- 
ary, 1880, Mr. Moon was again married, his second union being with Eliza 



414 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

E. West, the widow of Eliel W. West. The lady was born in Warren county, 
Ohio, and is a daughter of Joseph and Ellen (Halloway) Neeld, natives re- 
spectively of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Mrs. Moon is the youngest of five 
children, and was a babe when her mother died, and she was reared by an 
aunt. Five children graced the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. West, namely: 
Clara, Hattie, Harley, Walter and Jesse. The home of our subject and wife 
has been brightened and blessed by the presence of three children, — Alfred 
C, Ida May and Earl. The two youngest children are at home. Alfred C. 
is a graduate of the Lowell Academy, at Lowell, Kansas, of the class of 1901. 
As before stated, Mr. Moon's early education was limited, his chief text- 
book having been his Bible, his chief teacher his mother. Being afflicted from 
birth with palsy and nervousness, which kept him at home and alone much of 
the time, he naturally became retired and meditative by nature. He was un- 
able to walk before he was seven years of age, and has never been able to use 
a pen except to write his own name. During the Rebellion he was drafted 
for service, but was exempt on account of disability. In his early life Mr. 
Moon greatly desired a college education, but this boon was denied him, 
although he might have had it had he accepted the proposition of Universalist 
friends, who offered to educate him if he would enter the ministry of that 
denomination. However, he has always been a student of men and books 
as well as a great teeaeher, and his more than ordinary native ability, 
his sound judgment, and, above all, his large endowment of "heart," have 
made him meet for the Master's use in many departments of Christian effort. 

JAMES IRELAN. 

In the death of James Irelan, in 1896, Jasper county, Missouri, lost one 
of its best and most highly esteemed citizens, a man of irreproachable char- 
acter, who not only sustained all of the relations of life with dignity and a kind 
thoughtfulness for others, but also bore the record of a gallant and faithful 
soldier during the struggle of the Civil war. 

James Irelan came of good stock. He was born in White county, In- 
diana, on October 12, 1849. and was the third son of Samuel and Margaret 
(Bishop) Irelan. His father died when he was but ten years of age and 
then he went to live with Jefferson Coble, remaining with the latter until he 
was old enough to manage his own affairs legally. During this time he had 
attended school during the winters and employed the summers in farming. 
On May 20, 1862, he enlisted for service in the Union army, entering Com- 




JAMES IRELAN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY. 4*7 

party C, One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Regiment Volunteer Infantry, 
and remained until September 21, 1864, re-enlisting on November 29, 1S64, 
in Company B, One Hundred and Forty-fourth Volunteer Infantry, for a 
term to cover the war, and was honorably discharged on September 14, 1865, 
at Nashville, Tennessee. 

After his return to peaceful life once more, Air. Irelan remained in In- 
diana for one year, and in 1866 removed to Cass county, Missouri, but during 
the next year came to Jasper county and settled in Galena township near 
where Jo'plin now stands. By trade he was a cooper, but he was almost en- 
tirely employed in farming. 

Mr. Irelan was married on October 22, 1871, to Miss Emily Kost, vvhq 
was born in Fulton county, Illinois, on June 12, 1855. She was a daughter 
of George C. Kost, who was a native of Pennsylvania and one of the early 
settlers in Fulton county. Her mother, Sarah (Heisay) Kost, was a native 
of Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, and she now resides in Colorado. About 
1865 Air. and Mrs. Kost came to Missouri and located in Jasper county near 
the present site of Joplin, and found themselves among the early pioneers,, 
with no railroad communication with the outside world and with neighbors 
far apart. Their supplies were obtained in Springfield, and at that time there 
were but one or two houses in the now thriving town of Carthage. Here Air. 
Kost died in 1893, having reared to honorable manhood or womanhood a 
family of eleven children. Nine of these still survive, and Airs. Irelan was the 
second child and the oldest daughter of the family. 

Mrs. Irelan was but eleven years old when she came to jasper county 
and she grew up on the pioneer farm. After her marriage she and husband! 
located first in Galena township, where they remained for seventeen years. m< <v- 
ing then to the fine farm on section 3 in Twin Grove township, upon which 
Mrs. Irelan now resides. Air. Irelan died March 14, 1896. He was a prom- 
inent member of the G. A. R., in which he took a very active part and was 
buried by the rites of that organization. His political connection had ever 
been with the Republican party. 

To Air. and Airs. Irelan were born a family of twelve children, as fol- 
lows: Daisy D., the wife of Elmer E. Kendall, and they live in Duval 
township and have three children, — Walter, Lee and Charles; Fannie B., the 
wife of George Gibson, of Mineral Springs, and they have three children. — 
Homer G., Nellie A. and Johnnie M. ; F. May, the wife of Grant W. Schless- 
man, and they live on a farm in Galena township and have one child, — Edith 
R. ; Rosa L., the wife of James Kendall, and they live in Twin Grove town • 
22 



4i 8 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

ship and have two children, Oliver A. and an infant son; Iva H., wife of 
Ge rge Gibbs; Clarence J.; Dollie E. ; Claude A.; Minnie M. ; Carrie A; 
Warren J. ; and Charles B., who died when fourteen months old. Clarence J. 
married Mattie M. Dunlap. 

.Mrs. Irelan is one of the large land-owners of Jasper county, having 
a fine farm, consisting of two hundred and forty acres in the home place, 
and eighty acres additional in Duval township. She is highly esteemed and is 
surrounded by her affectionate children and a large host of neighbors and 
friends, is honored throughout the community and respected by all that 
know her. 



i 



C. B. PERDUE. 



Prominent among the leading citizens of Jasper county, Missouri, C. B. 
Perdue, who lives on section 20, in Jasper township, deserves especial mention 
in this work. He is a son of Mentor and Mary Perdue, and was born in 
Chester county, Pennsylvania, May 21, 1836. Mentor Perdue, who was a 
native of Virginia, removed to< Pennsylvania, and thence about 1853 to Cook 
county, Illinois, where he followed farming northwest of Chicago until about 
i860, and then he removed to Ford county, same state, where he died, at the 
age of about seventy-five years. In politics he was a Whig, and later a Re- 
publican. His father, who is believed to have been a native of Virginia also, 
died when Mentor was a mere child. Mary Perdue, Mentor Perdue's wife, 
was born in Pennsylvania, and died in Ford county, Illinois, at the age of 
alx ut. eighty years. 

Mentor and Mary Perdue were the parents of six sons and two daugh- 
ters. C. B. Perdue was their second child in order of nativity and their sec- 
ond son also'. He remained in Pennsylvania until he was twenty-one years 
old, when he went to> Cook county, Illinois, where he remained until 1861. 
From that time until 1865 he was farming in Ford county, Illinois, from 
which place he removed to Champaign county, same state, and remained there 
until 1 88 1, when he came to Jasper county, Missouri. For a time he lived 
in Carthage and afterward in Waco, until he bought the farm upon which he 
now lives. He is the owner of two half sections of land, which he has devel- 
oped into a fine farming property. His principal crop is hay, of which, being 
the owner of a good hay press, he ships large quantities baled. 

Mr. Perdue married, in 1866, Ellen Davidson, a native of Ripley, Brown 
county, Ohio, and a daughter of Josiah and Catherine (Pittinger) Davidson. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 419 

Mrs. Perdue, who was the third in order of birth of a family of six children, 
five of whom are daughters, remained in her native county in Ohio- until she 
was fifteen years old, and then went to Champaign county, Illinois, where she 
first became acquainted with Mr. Perdue. They have five children, and have 
lost three by death. Their son James married Mary Bell. Their daughter 
Mabel is the wife of Brook Graves. Their son Mentor is teaching school in 
New Mexico. Their daughters Addie and Rosa are members of their par- 
ents' household. 

Mr. Perdue is a Republican and takes a keen interest in all questions 
of local and national import, but he is not a. seeker of office nor in the ordinary 
sense an active politician. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church 
and a liberal supporter of its various interests. All in all, he is a patriotic 
and progressive citizen of much public spirit, who is held in high esteem by 
all who know him. 

'' HON. J. L. NALL. 

Hon. J. L. Nail, who for a number of years served as superintendent 
of the county farm and was one of the leading and representative citizens of 
the locality, passed away on the 2 2d of May, 1901. His death was the cause 
of widespread regret, while the community mourned the loss of one of its 
truest and best citizens. He claimed Hardin county, Kentucky, as the place 
of his nativity, his birth having occurred there on the 10th of May, 1830. 
His paternal grandfather, John Nail, was a native of Culpeper county, Vir- 
ginia. In 1780 he removed to Kentucky, where he remained in a fort for 
three years, during which time he had man)' fights with the Indians. He 
was one of a company of ninety-six people to locate there, and they named 
their fort "Knalle," meaning canal in English. Mr. Nail was of German de- 
scent. The father of our subject, William P. Nail, was born in Washing- 
ton county, Kentucky, in 1798, and was there reared until seventeen years 
of age, when he removed with his parents to' Hardin county, Kentucky, 
spending the remainder of his life there. He was called to the home beyond 
at the age of eighty-two years. He was a farmer and cabinet-maker by occu- 
pation, and of the Methodist Episcopal church he was a worthy member and 
active worker, having held man)' offices therein. His political views were first 
in harmony with the Democracy and later he became a Whig. The mother 
of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Brumfield, was a na- 
tive of Mercer county, Kentucky, born in 1804. When a little girl she was 



420 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

taken by her parents to Hardin count}-, Kentucky. Her death occurred when 
she had reached the age of sixty-six years. She was a daughter of William 
and Nancy (Lincoln) Brumfield. The Brumfields were supposed to be of 
English origin, and William Brumfield was a native of Mercer county, Ken- 
tucky. Mrs. Brumfield was a sister of President Lincoln's father. William 
P. and Elizabeth (Brumfield) Nail were the parents of sixteen children, ten 
sons and six daughters, and nine of the number, four sons and five daugh- 
ters, grew to years of maturity. 

J. L. Nail, the third child and second son, attained to years of maturity 
m Hardin county, Kentucky, and his elementary education was there received 
in the common schools. lie subsequently matriculated in the University of 
Indiana, and while attending that institution he was a classmate of Walter 
O. Gresham. He next became a student in the Hardin County Academy, at 
Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and after putting' aside his text-books as a student 
he took up the task of an instructor, following the teacher's profession in his 
native county for ten years, while during that period he also- devoted his leisure 
time to the work o>f the farm. At the ag-e of thirty-three years he abandoned 
the work of the school-room in order to give his undivided attention to> the 
work of the fields. For four years he ably served his county as surveyor, and 
in 1 87 1 -2 and 1872-3 he was elected to the legislature, while for thirteen years 
he was deputy clerk of Hardin count}-. In all these positions he worked for 
the promotion of the interests of the people, and as a public officer he gained 
the respect and esteem of his community. In 1879 Mr. Nail became a resi- 
dent of Jasper county, Missouri, and embarked in the implement business, 
continuing the same for about twelve years, with headquarters at Kansas City, 
St. Paul and Carthage. Lie was also* engaged in the grocery and coal trade. 
In 1897 he was appointed superintendent of the county poor farm, and so 
ably did he discharge the duties of that position that in 1899 and again in 
1901 he was re-elected, serving therein until his life's labors were ended in 
death. During his incumbency the state board reports show that the Jasper 
county poor farm was the best managed in the state of Missouri. 

On the 1 8th of September, 185^, occurred the marriage of Mr. Nail 
and Miss Laura A. Nail, a daughter of Martin and Elizabeth (Nail) Nail. 
The lady is a native of Hardin county, Kentucky, her birth having occurred 
on the 12th of July, 1842, and in that county she was reared and educated. 
She is the sixth in order of birth of her parents' nine children, and is the 
mother of two children living. The daughter, Emma, is the "widow of A. W. 
Clary, of Webb City, and she has two children, — Claude and Maude. The 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 421 

son, Irvy M., married Lula Mathis, and they have one son, Lloyd. In politi- 
cal matters Mr. Nail exercised his right of franchise in support of the prin- 
ciples of Democracy. He was a leading- and active member of the Baptist 
church in Carthage, and for a number of years served as secretary of the 
Baptist Association, but his many business duties made it necessary for him 
to resign that position, although he always remained active in the work of 
the church. He was an earnest and public-spirited citizen, and as such 
commanded the regard of a large circle of friends and acquaintances. 

4 JOSEPH P. BRADFORD. 

Amid a wide acquaintance in Jasper county, Joseph P. Bradford main- 
tains a reputation as an enterprising farmer and leading citizen. He makes 
his home en section 26, Duval township. He was born in Monroe county, 
Michigan, January 22, 1836, and is a son of John Bradford, a native of Xew 
York, who came to Michigan at a very early period in its development and 
assisted in building the first house in the city of Toledo. The growth of the 
city may be indicated by the fact that the last time he visited there he became 
lost and the police had to assist him in finding his way. He died in Jasper 
•county, at the ripe old age of ninety-one years. His wife bore the maiden 
name of Eliza Clayton, and she, too, was a native of the Empire state. Her 
death occurred in early womanhood. 

Joseph P. Bradford, of this review, was the sixth in order of birth of 
their family of seven children, and in his native county he was reared, attend- 
ing the district schools. He remained at home until he had attained his ma- 
jority, and soon afterward he chose as a companion and helpmate on the jour- 
ney of life Miss Cornelia E. Kimball, the wedding being celebrated February 
24, 1857. She was born in Monroe county, Michigan, December 30, 1835, 
and was a daughter of John P. and Bethiah N. ( Harris) Kimball, the former 
a native of Xew York and the latter of New Hampshire, whence she removed 
to the Empire state. Mr. Kimball was a carpenter by trade and followed 
that pursuit in order to provide for the wants of himself and family, number- 
ing his wife and eight children, of whom Mrs. Bradford was the third in 
order of birth. Mr. Kimball also owned a large farm. 

Our subject and his wife began their domestic life in their native county, 
and in i860 removed to Montana, making the journey with ox-teams. They 
located in Galliton valley, fifteen miles from Bozeman, and remained in the 
west for about three years. At that time the excitement over the discovery 



422 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

of gold in Montana ran very high, and early in the spring of 1866 Mr. Brad- 
ford and several of his neighbors made hurried preparations to start for the 
land of gold. They secured provisions sufficient to last for three years, which 
they loaded on the cars and shipped to Kellogg, Iowa, then the terminus of the 
railroad. 

About one week later Mr. Bradford, with his wife and child and his 
brother Clayton and his wife and brother, started for Kellogg, and after their 
arrival there they purchased forty milch cows, as it was their intention to 
engage in the manufacture of cheese and butter after their arrival in Mon- 
tana, while during the remainder of the journey the cows were also to be used 
in hauling the wagons. Before leaving that place, however, they found 
that the railroad agent had disposed of a part of their provisions to a party 
who were destined for the same county, they having received several barrels 
of sugar, but in return the agent gave Mr. Bradford's party tobacco and 
gunpowder. They also encountered much trouble in starting their teams, as 
none of them. had ever been hitched to a wagon and some of them were per- 
fectly wild, and after three days of hard labor they were still in sight of their 
starting place. Finally they secured a yoke of oxen, which they put on the 
lead, and thus were able to make a start. While at Kellogg they boarded at 
the hotel, which was made of sod cut in squares and placed one on top of 
the other. The party chose the Bozeman cut-off route, through Omaha, 
Nebraska, thence to Fremont, up the north side of the North Platte river, 
also' to the Big Horn river, finally landing at what is now known as Fort 
Ellis, Montana. Their road lay through a country inhabited by the Indians, 
and at Omaha a stop was made for a few days in order to finish loading their 
wagons, and there Mr. Bradford and his brothers purchased another wagon 
and a number of cows, also securing the services of two men for the remain- 
der of the journey. While there he purchased two> young pigs, which were 
the first ever taken into the county, and on the first day o>f his arrival in Gal- 
latin valley he was offered five hundred dollars in gold for the swine. After 
reaching Fort Laramie they had their first trouble with the Indians. Before 
arriving there, however, and while crossing a stream, the cattle turned from 
the bridge, which was ten feet high, in order to- get a drink, thus throwing the 
wagon several feet from the running gears, and in the accident Mrs. Bradford 
was severely hurt. 

While yet some distance from Fremont there was a long drive without 
either water or grass, and the party had been warned to look out for two 
men who* had planted a strip of wheat close to the stream, and the cattle, in 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 423 

order to get to the water, would trample on the wheat, and as the law was 
very strict there the men could collect heavy damages. For this offense Mr. 
Bradford's party were fined one hundred and twenty-five dollars, but they 
settled the matter by giving the men ten dollars and a good whipping, although 
the following train was obliged to pay damages to the amount of one hundred 
and fifty dollars. On reaching Fort Laramie the Indians were having their 
sun dance and were also developing warriors. In order to accomplish the 
latter a pole of twenty-five feet in length was set in the ground, at the top of 
which was fastened an awning made of rawhide, reaching from the top of 
the pole to the ground, and to this was hung a long strip of rawhide. They 
then took a boy, made two cuts upon his breast, and, running a knife under 
the skin, tied thereto the strip of rawhide. He was then made to run the full 
length of the strip, thus tearing the flesh from his body, and if this failed to do 
the work an Indian would take hold of the rawhide and assist in tearing away 
the flesh. This feat accomplished the Indian becomes a full-fledged brave 
and is permitted to don feathers and paint. While Mr. Bradford's party were 
at Fort Laramie the Indians signed a treaty of peace with the government, 
but on their first day out they were attacked by the redskins, who used the 
same guns which were given them by the government while making the 
treat}', and they continued to follow the train during their entire journey. 
From that time on not a day passed in which they were not engaged in fight- 
ing, so determined were they that the whites should not pass through their 
country. 

On one occasion the travelers became terribly frightened over the stam- 
peding of their cattle. Mr. Bradford used every available means 'in his power 
to stop them, but all was of no avail, and they were only saved from total 
destruction by the two men who had been hired to assist them, and who were 
raw Irishmen. They were in the rear of the front team, and seing the stam- 
pede coming they grabbed the leaders by the horns, holding them securely, 
and thus prevented the stampeding cattle from passing. Reaching the Big 
Horn river, the company had a severe fight with the Indians, in which they 
lost one hundred mules and about one hundred head of cattle, but the latter 
were afterward retaken. At that place they had much trouble in crossing 
the stream, there being but two small boats tied together. After having con- 
stant fighting with the Indians, the party at last reached Fort Ellis, then a 
lone cabin three miles from Bozeman. Mr. Bradford located ten miles west 
of the latter city and began the manufacture of cheese, milking the same cows 
which were used in drawing the wagons across the plains. In order to press 



424 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

the cheese they hung it under the wagon tongue and placed heavy weights 
upon it. Theirs was a perilous journey, but they at last reached their desti- 
nati< n in safety. 

In 1869 Mr. and Mrs. Bradford returned to'the Mississippi valley, locat- 
ing in Clinton county, Iowa. He engaged in the furniture business at Cala- 
mus for about two years, and also operated a cheese factory and manufac- 
tured steamers for cooking feed for cattle. In 1871 he came to Jasper county, 
where he engaged in farming for about three years, and in 1874 he returned 
to Monroe county, Michigan, where he again engaged in the manufacture of 
steamers. He had many teams upon the road and did a large business. Sub- 
sequently lie removed to Clay City, Indiana, where he engaged in the manu- 
facture of plow handles and runners for bob-sleighs. In 1889 he returned to 
Jasper county, Missouri, and located where he now lives. Since that time 
he has been extensively and successfully engaged in farming and stock-raising. 
He has an interest in an estate of nine Hundred acres, much of which is located 
in Duval township. He also' has mining land near Neck City. He owns 
ether lands in Duval township, which he has leased to parties who will soon 
begin to prospect for oil. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bradford have- been born three children who are 
yet living: Seymour K., now residing in California; Len L., a graveling sales- 
man in Denver, Colorado; and Jay 1'.. who follows farming and resides with 
his parents. Mr. Bradford usually gives his political support to the Repub- 
lican party. His wife is an active member of the Order of Eastern Star, 
and also of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Bradford has had an eventful life, 
which, if written in detail, would make a volume as thrilling as any story in 
fiction. In his business he has persevered, and his determination and energy 
have resulted in bringing tohim creditable prosperity. 

JOHN II. TAYLOR. 

It is a well attested maxim that the greatness of a state lies not in its 
machinery of government, nor even in its institutions, but in the sterling 
qualities of its individual citizens, in their capacity for high and unselfish effort 
and their devotion to the public good. Regarded as a citizen Mr. Taylor be- 
longs to that public-spirited, useful and helpful type of men whose ambitions 
and desires are centered and directed in those channels through which Mows 
the greatest and the most permanent good to the greatest number, and it is 
therefore consistent with the purpose and plan of this work that his record 




JOHH H. TAYLOR. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 427 

be given among- those of the representative men of southwestern Missouri. He 
has been prominent in the development of the natural resources of the state, 
thus adding to its material upbuilding, has left the impress of his individuality 
upon public affairs and has promoted in large measure the best interests of his 
adopted city of Joplin. 

John Henry Taylor was born at Leesburg, Virginia, January 26, 1837, 
a son of William and Mary (Ross) Taylor. The father was born in London,' 
England, and was educated in the Church of England. When twenty-one 
years of age he crossed the Atlantic to America, settling in Virginia, where he 
was married. In 1833 be removed to Ohio and a few years later came to 
Missouri. He was a prominent educator and was elected school commissioner 
of Jackson county, Missouri, in 1858. His death occurred in 1862 and his 
wife passed away in 1877, while residing at Independence, Missouri. Both 
were members of the Baptist church and were earnest, consistent Christian 
people, who enjoyed the unqualified confidence and regard of all with whom 
they were associated. The father was also one of the first members of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 

In a school taught by his father John Henry Taylor pursued his early 
education and afterward continued his studies in an academy. With his 
parents he removed to Hannibal, Missouri, in 1844, and subsequently to 
Paris, where he attended school and also clerked in a store. At that place 
he likewise filled the position of "devil" in the office of the Paris Mercury. 
In 185 1 the family went to Independence, Missouri, where he further pursued 
his studies and again engaged in clerking. He was also connected with 
the public service, acting as deputy circuit clerk and ex-officio recorder of 
Jackson county, Missouri, under General Lucas. Determining to prepare for 
the bar he took to the study of law under the direction of the firm of Christ- 
man & Comingo, and in September, 1857. was admitted to practice. The 
following year he was appointed city attorney of Independence and was 
subsequently several times reappointed — a fact which indicates the competent 
and faithful manner in which he discharged his duties. In i860 he received an 
•appointment to the office of county school commissioner. 

About one year after the close of the Civil war. which found Mr. Taylor 
at Shreveport, Louisiana, he resumed the practice of law in Independence, 
Missouri, and through several succeeding years was a prominent and suc- 
cessful attorney at that place. In December, 1871. he effected the organiza- 
tion of the first company formed at Joplin to develop the mineral resources 
•of southwestern Missouri, known as the Joplin Mining & Smelting Company, 



428 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

of which he was secretary, treasurer and manager. Subsequently he became 
the president, acting in that capacity until the charter of the company ex- 
pired. In 1872 he organized the East Joplin City & Mining Company, of 
which he was president, and in 1874 he was instrumental in organizing 
the North Joplin Alining & Smelting Company. About this time the Joplin 
Savings Bank, the first bank of the city, was founded, and he also became its 
chief executive officer. In 1894 he organized the Taylor Land & Alining 
Company, of which he is president, while his son, Wilkins Taylor, is the sec- 
retary. The company owns large property interests in and near Joplin, large- 
ly acquired from companies formerly in existence. Mr. Taylor is a man of 
splendid business ability and executive force, of keen discernment and sound 
judgment, and whatever he has undertaken he has carried forward to success- 
ful completion. 

In 1875 Mr. Taylor was elected a delegate to the constitutional conven- 
tion which framed the present constitution of Missouri. He represented the 
sixteenth senatorial district, then comprising the counties of Jasper, Barton, 
Vernon, Dade and Cedar, and labored earnestly for the measures which he 
believed would prove of the greatest good to the majority of the citizens. 
He has always taken an active interest in politics and while living in Carthage, 
Missouri, he was a member of the city council, but resigned upon coming 
to Joplin in 1882. In 1898 he was appointed by the governor one of the com- 
missioners to the Omaha Exposition. 

In Independence, Missouri, on the 7th of April, 1874, Mr. Taylor was 
married to Miss Lulie Smith, formerly of Bowling Green, Kentucky. She 
is a descendant of the Mitchell and Dent families of A r J£ghfi_ a - Her great- 
grandparents became acquainted at the residence of General George Wash- 
ington, while visiting at Mount Vernon, Colonel James Mitchell being an 
officer under Washington, while Miss Dent was a cousin of Airs. Washington. 
Six children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, but only three are 
now living: Wilkins, Belle and Morgan. 

Since 1855 Air. Taylor has been a member of the Presbyterian church, 
to which his wife also belongs, and in its work he takes an active and helpful 
interest. He has also long been an elder in the church. For several years 
he has been president of the Young Men's Christian Association of Joplin and 
is a member of the state executive committee of that religious organization. 
When twenty-one years of age he was made a member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows in Independence, Missouri, and has held many offices 
in the fraternity up to that of district deputy grand master. He is also a 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 429 

member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In early life he was 
grand secretary of the Temperance Union of Missouri and has done every- 
thing in his power for the uplifting of his fellow men. The people of Joplin 
are to be congratulated upon a character of such splendid development, such 
elevation and purity of purpose and such a devotion to the Highest and best 
interests of the state as are exhibited in the public and private life of John 
Henry Taylor. 

HANS YTELL. 

Hans Ytell, a prominent farmer and stock-raiser of Twin Grove town- 
ship, Jasper county, was born in Sweden on the 9th of April, 1844. He 
was there reared and educated, attending the common schools. At the age 
of twenty-one he began drilling in the army, continuing for one year, and 
while in his native country he also followed farming. In 1866 he left the 
land of his birth and crossed the briny deep to America, making his way to 
Henry county, Illinois, where he first worked by the day or month at any- 
thing- he could find to do that would yield him an honest living. He made 
his home in Henry county until February, 1869, when he removed to De Kalb 
county, Missouri, and there purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres. In addition to his labors on the farm he also followed the carpenter's 
trade for twenty years, engaging - in the dual occupation there until 1890, 
when he disposed of his property and removed to Stewartsville, Missouri, 
spending one year in that city. In the summer of 1891 Mr. Ytell made his 
way to Logan county, Oklahoma, where he bought a claim and began the 
improvement of his land, remaining there until 1897. In January of that 
year he came to Jasper county, Missouri, and purchased the farm on which 
he now resides, consisting of four hundred and ninety acres. He has made 
many improvements upon his land, placing the same under a high state of 
cultivation, and there he is extensively engaged in general farming and stock- 
raising. His farm is located on section 35, Twin Grove township. One of 
the attractive features of the place is his fine large orchard, containing- about 
eighteen hundred trees, which he set out on first locating on the land. His 
large barn, which was erected at a cost of five hundred dollars, was burned 
to the ground in 1900, and in November of that year he erected his pres- 
ent barn. ■ 

In De Kalb county, Missouri, in 1880, Mr. Ytell was united in marriage 
with Miss Tena Anderson, also a native of Sweden. She came to America 



430 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

in 1869, when ten years of age. Their union has been blessed with eight chil- 
dren, — John H., Hans A., Anna M., Ida E., Louisa M., Harrison K., Tena F. 
and Peter William, all at home. Mr. Ytell is a stanch supporter of the Re- 
publican party, believing firmly in its principles, and he does everything in his 
power to promote the advancement and growth. Such is the biography of 
one of the most successful men of Jasper county. He has carved his way to 
affluence unaided and alone, by constant application and hard work, and his 
success is entirely attributable to patient work, combined with a natural, well- 
balanced mind. 

JOHN H. WATT. 

Prominent among the successful, energetic and thrifty men of Jasper 
count}' stands the name of John H. Watt, who is extensively engaged in the 
tilling of the soil. He is a native of Parke county, Indiana, Iris birth having 
occurred on the 9th oi March, 1851. His father, Alexander K. Watt, was 
born in Butler county, Ohio, April 11, 1824, a son of Alexander and Mary 
Watt, the latter of Irish descent. The former was born in Pennsylvania, of 
Scotch-Irish descent, and he became an early pioneer of both Ohio and Indi- 
ana. He iollowed farming as a life occupation, and was a well-educated man 
for his time, keeping well posted on the issues and questions of the day. Their 
son, Alexander K. Watt, removed to Indiana with his parents when a child, 
and he still makes his home in Parke county, that state, where he is engaged 
in agricultural pursuits. In his political affiliations he is a supporter of the 
Democracy, but takes no active part in politics. For his wife he chose Mary 
H. Harding, who was born near Shelbyville, Shelby county, Kentucky, but 
was reared in Indiana, to which state she removed with her parents when a 
child. She passed away in 1898, at the age of seventy-two years. Her father. 
Mason Harding, was alsoi a native of Kentucky, but on account of the slavery 
question he left that state and took up his abode in Indiana. He, too, fol- 
lowed the quiet pursuits of the farm. Mr. and Mrs. Watt became the par- 
ents of nine children, namely : Minerva, the wife of R. M. Webster, a resi- 
dent of Indiana; John H., the subject of this review; George, of Mineral 
township; Mahala. the wife of John Graves, also of Indiana; Thomas and 
William, residents of Parke county, Indiana; Amanda, the wife of George 
Zeuschnitt, of Fredonia, Kansas; Purlina, the wife of M. Miller, of Indiana; 
and Ellen, the wife of P. P. Belt, a jeweler and machinist at Fredonia, Kansas. 

John H. Watt, whose name introduces this review, was reared in the 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 



43 v 



county of his nativity, and was early inured to the work of held and meadow. 
He remained in the Hoosier state until 1881, which year witnessed his arrival 
in Jasper county Missouri. He has since remained a resident of tins state 
and his first purchase of land here consisted of the farm on which he and his 
brother George are still engaged in agricultural pursuits. Both have re- 
mained unmarried, and, in fact, of the four sons of the family, all have re- 
mained single, the youngest son having been horn in 1858. Our subject and 
his brother now own three hundred acres of well-improved and fertile land 
and thereon they are extensively engaged in general farming, their efforts 
n tha direction being attended with a high and well-merited degree of success 
in politics Mr Wat. is a free-silver advocate. His life record is a worthy 
c°ommumt S ^ '° C ° mmend him ''° the res P ect alld este ™ of the entire 

JOHN GLEASON. 

John Gleason, a successful business man of Jasper county, came to this 
district when a youth of fourteen years, and has ever since been identified with 
its interests. He claims Wisconsin as the state of his nativitv. His father 
John Gleason, resided in Newton comity, Missouri, for many 'years, and was 
a farmer by occupation. He was a native of Tipperarv, Ireland. He was 
.named m Rochester, New York, to Miss Slattery, also a native of the Emer- 
aid isle. 

John Gleason, whose name introduces this review, has spent nearly his 
entire life in this locality, and since his youth has been engaged in mining 
pursuits. The first day's work which he ever performed was in a mine and 
since then he has opened up and developed many valuable mining properties 
meeting with a high and well-merited degree of success in his chosen calling.' 
He opened the North Empire mine for DeGraff Brothers, also the Wellington 
for Kimball & Cornell, on the Maston ground in Galena, Kansas, and was 
interested in one thousand acres of land. He then opened up the old Bentham 
mine at Leadville Hollow, where he worked on the old Discovery shaft 
Mr Gleason now holds the important position of superintendent of the Ken- 
tucky mine, owned by the Kentucky Zinc Company and located on the Tack- 
son land. It contains twenty acres of land, and is one of the rich and paying- 
properties of the locality. He is a successful, energetic and enterprising 
business man, and his reputation in business circles is above reproach. 

Mr. Gleason was united in marriage, in Jasper county, Missouri, with 



432 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Miss Lizzie Davis, a native of this county and a daughter of James Davis, 
of Iowa. Two children have been born unto this union, — Mabell and Myrtle. 
In his political affiliations Mr. Gleason is a stanch Republican, and socially 
is a member of Galena Lodge, No. 9, A. O. U. W. 

MRS. SAMANTHA ALEXANDER. 

Mrs. Samantha Alexander, of Jasper county, has spent nearly her entire 
life in this locality, where she is loved and respected by all who have the 
pleasure of her acquaintance. She was bora in Overton county, Tennessee, 
on the 1st of February, 1849, a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Hardy) 
Morgan, also natives of that state. In 1851 they came to Jasper county, 
Missouri, locating near where Carterville now stands, where the father fol- 
lowed agricultural pursuits. His death occurred there at the age of sixty- 
three years, while the mother passed away when sixty-two* years of age. He 
was a prominent early settler of Jasper county, and was honored and respected 
by all with whom he had business or social relations. His political views 
were in harmony with the principles of Republicanism. Mi. and Mrs. Mor- 
gan became the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters. 

Mrs. Alexander, the eldest child and the only one of the family now 
living, was but two years of age when she was brought by her parents to 
Jasper county, and in this locality she was reared and received her education. 
On the 7th of June, 1868, she was united in marriage with Benjamin C. Alex- 
ander, who was born in Henry county, Iowa, on the 12th of March, 1845. 
He also came to this county when a child. When the Civil war was inaugu- 
rated he readily responded to< the call of his country, enlisting as a private in 
Company G, Eighteenth Kansas Cavalry, being at that time but sixteen years 
of age. He remained in the service for three years, loyally defending the 
starry banner on the battlefields of the south. He gave his political support 
to the Republican party, and of the Presbyterian church he was a worthy 
and active member, giving liberally of his time and means to the support of 
the gospel. 

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Alexander located on the farm where 
the widow still resides. She is now the owner of one hundred and sixty 
acres of land in Jackson township and fifty-four acres in Marion township, 
aggregating in all two hundred and fourteen acres of valuable land. Their 
first residence was a log cabin eighteen by twenty feet, containing but one 
room, in one end of which was a large fireplace. This dwelling has since 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 433 

been replaced by a more modern structure, and on the farm are to be found 
all the improvements and accessories of a model farm. On this place Mr. 
Alexander died on the 13th of May, 1881, and thus passed from earth one 
of the representative and substantial residents of his locality. His death was 
the cause of widespread regret, while a community mourned the loss of one 
of its truest and best citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander became the parents 
of seven children, namely : William Thomas, who died when ten months old ; 
John Walter, who died at the age of sixteen years; Joseph Benjamin, who 
resides on the old homestead with his mother; Nettie, the wife of Joe Peek; 
Daniel Edward, who is a soldier in the Philippines; Samantha R. E., the wife 
of Marion Peek ; and Minnie Violene, deceased. After the death of her hus- 
band Mrs. Alexander was left with the care of six children, the eldest of whom 
was but ten years of age and the youngest was two weeks old, but she suc- 
ceeded in keeping her family together, and by her earnest labor and untiring 
efforts was enabled to give them good educational advantages. The surviving 
ones are all married with the exception of the one in the Philippines, and all 
are a credit to the honored family name. She is an excellent business woman, 
Laving entire charge of her business interests, and she now rents a part of her 
land. Of the Presbyterian church she is an active and worthy member, her 
every-day life being in harmony with its teachings. 



v 



JAMES MYERS. 



James Myers, who is superintendent and part owner of the Paxton mine, 
which is located within the city limits of Joplin, has for a number of years 
devoted his energies to mining pursuits in southwestern Missouri. He is a 
native of Ohio county, Indiana, and is of German lineage, his great-grand- 
father having been the founder of the family in the new world. He spent 
his youth in the state of his nativity, and is indebted to its public-school sys- 
tem for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. At the time of the Civil 
war he responded to his country's call for troops, offering his services to the 
government as a defender of the Union and donning the blue as a member 
of the Fourth Indiana Cavalry, with which he served for three years. He 
was with the Army of the Cumberland and participated in a number of bat- 
tles under General McCook. He was a brave and fearless soldier, and on 
picket duty and on the firing line he was equally faithful to the cause he 
espoused. 

Since 1887 Mr. Myers has been engaged in mining in Jasper county. 



434 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

In that year he came to Joplin, and his work has been continuous in the de- 
velopment of the rich mineral deposits of this portion of the state. He opened 
up the McClelland land and the Myers and McDowell mine, which was a 
first-class property. For fourteen months he was superintendent of the Rubber 
Neck mine, at Neck City, which was also a good paying mine, and recently 
he took charge of the Paxton mine, which has recently been opened up within 
the city limits of Joplin. A mill is being erected and preparations are being 
carried forward for conducting mining operations on a most modern scale. 
In 1894 Mr. Myers was united in marriage to Miss Mattie Rogers, of Jop- 
lin, who had formerly resided in Brown county, Ohio-. They have a pleasant 
home and many friends in Joplin, and the hospitality of the best households is 
extended to them. Mr. Myers is a member of Charity Lodge, and in politics 
is an active Republican, who keeps well informed on the issues of the day 
and does ail in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of 
the party, although he never seeks office for himself. He is a man of marked 
energy, keen discrimination and resolute will, and is meeting with creditable 
success in his business career. 



J 



B. A. GOODING, M. D. 



Among the leading" physicians of Jasper county is B. A. Gooding, who 
was born in Hancock county, Illinois, October 10, 1865, and was the son 
of Cornelius and Elizabeth (Holcomb) Gooding, the former a native of 
St. Clair county, Illinois, born near Bellville, of Scotch and German ancestry. 
His death occurred in Jasper, Missouri, in February, 1896. The mother of 
our subject was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, was there married and 
soon moved to Hancock county, Illinois, whence she came with her husband 
and children to Jasper county in 1882. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Gooding were : Ada, the wife of J. A. Rhodes ; Homer L. ; Fred A. ; Erne, 
the wife of Montgomery B. Fairfield; and Lillie M., deceased wife of Dr. G. 
B. Shlusher. In this family Dr. Gooding was the fourth child and the sec- 
ond son. 

The early life of Dr. Gooding was spent in Hancock county, Illinois, 
and before the family came to Missouri he supplemented his primary schooling 
by attendance at the Gem City Business College, at Quincy, Illinois, being 
graduated at that institution in 1881. From there our subject went to 
Keokuk, Iowa, and entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at which 
he was graduated with honors in 1887. The same year he came to Jasper, 




B. A. GOODING. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 437 

opened his office and began practice. The success which has attended him 
is well deserved, as he is one of the most careful, conscientious and skillful 
physicians ot Jasper county. He is a close student and has advanced in the 
profession along with the progress made in the science of medicine, and has 
won the confidence and esteem of the people of Jasper. 

Dr. Gooding was married in 1890 to Miss May E. Dodd, a daughter of 
Thomas and Henrietta (Jones) Dodd, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, 
and came with her parents to Jasper county in 1889. Two children have been 
born to Dr. and Mrs. Gooding, Edna A. and Ralph L. Politically Dr. Good- 
ing is a Republican and is prominent in Masonic circles, being connected with 
Jasper Lodge, No. 398, F. & A. M., the chapter and commandery at Carthage, 
and the Eastern Star. He also belongs to the Woodmen of the World and 
Woodman Circle, in all of these organizations being justly popular. In the 
estimation of the community Dr. Gooding stands high, both as a physician and 
a citizen. 

J 

T. B. WORMINGTON. 

One of the leading citizens of Sarcoxie, Missouri, is T. B. Wormington, 
who conducts here a business in wagon and carriage making and machine 
work of all kinds. Mr. Wormington was born in Newton county, Missouri, 
September 1, 1841, a son of Wesley and Martha (Turpin) Wormington! 
both of whom were natives of Tennessee. They came to Newton county 
in 1833 and located on a farm at Wild Cat Grove when there were few settle- 
ments near and the deer and wild beasts of the forests were often seen. Wes- 
ley Wormington was a successful hunter, and was well known throughout 
the neighborhood. ■ His blacksmith and plow establishment was long erne of 
the meeting places of that locality, as Mr. Wormington was also justice of 
the peace for the township. For many years he was one of the prominent 
members of the Masonic order, and in his later years connected himself with 
Sarcoxie Lodge, No. 293. At one time he owned a large acreage of land 
in Newton county, and both he and wife, who both passed away in 1872, 
were consistent members of the Methodist church. Four sons were born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Wormington, and of these W. M. and our subject served in 
the Confederate army during the Civil war, while John and James entered 
the Union army. 

T. B. Wormington, our subject, was educated in the common schools 
of Newton county and later became a student at Newton College at which 

23 



433 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

lie was graduated. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted in Company 
13, Third Missouri Cavalry, in Shelby's Brigade, and faithfully served through 
the war, for the first six months acting as brigade blacksmith and during the 
rest of the time as second lieutenant. After the close of the Avar he went to 
St. Louis and entered a blacksmith and carriage shop, in which he completed 
his apprenticeship, and then opened up a business of his own in that city. 
Later he went to the Pacific coast, still working at his trade, and still later 
repeated the trip and for a third time crossed the continent, but for the past 
thirty years he has been located in this county, where he has built up a pros- 
perous business in the line indicated. 

Mr. Wormington has been prominent in city affairs and a leader of the 
county Democracy; was a member of the first board of aldermen, served at 
one time as its chairman, and at present is one of the city officials, his services 
being regarded with approval by both parties on account of his efficiency and 
personal popularity. 

The marriage of Mr. Wormington occurred in 1870 to Miss Matilda 
Blackburn, who was born in Kentucky. To them three children were born : 
Ona B. and Thomas J., both deceased; and Leo O. The last named was edu- 
cated in the common schools, later passed with honor through the high school, 
and is now the efficient deputy sheriff of Jasper county. He married Miss 
Maggie Bookter, who was a native of Wisconsin. 

Mr. Wormington is well known and popular in a number of social organi- 
zations, being a member of Sarcoxie Lodge, No. 293, A. F. & A. M. ; Sar- 
coxie Lodge, No. 248, I. O. O. F. ; the Ancient Order of United Workmen; 
and is also second lieutenant of Jasper County Camp of U. C. V., of Car- 
thage, Missouri. He and his wife are consistent members of the Cumberland 
Presbyterian church, and are among the most highly esteemed residents 
of Sarcoxie. 



J 



T. E. PALMER. 



T. E. Palmer, editor and manager of the Neck City News, was born in 
Adrian, Michigan, November 2S, 1856. His father, Dr. Noah E. Palmer, 
claimed New York as the state of his nativity, and was there reared and edu- 
cated. He subsequently removed to Wisconsin, but in 1855 left that state for 
Michigan, where he remained until i860, when he removed to Goshen, Indi- 
ana, and there began the study of medicine. During the Civil war he was a 
member of the One Hundredth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY 



439 



as a nurse and ! assistant physician. After the close of hostilities in 186- he 
located in Shelby county, Iowa, where he resumed the practice of hi ^os^ 

en" TZ KT " ,e PiU " ee '" PhySiC,a " ° f ^ *~ L »- 1c , T 

i;" e sstr h i spem se - erai years as a medicai prac - 

„ w , returned to Iowa, locating in Kirkman, Shelby countv 

where he engaged nt the dry goods business in connection with his ,t« ' ! 
practice, j or ,„ s wlfe Dr . Pa]mer ^ ^ - " ed.cal 

a,? Ud,: r" ^ "'" alS ° ^^ S " e WaS ' he ad0 - d daugh er of J : 
athan Wdand, a promtnent resident of Goshen. Indiana. The Doctor and 
Mrs Palmer maintain their residence in Bolan. Iowa, where he is en^d 
lite drug business and is also postmaster of his town " S 

T E. Palmer, the eldest of his parents' six children, three sons and three 
daughters removed with the family to Shelby countv. Iowa, whe ei"h 
of age His advantages for securing an education were rather me. e as , 
o lv a ended school three months after reaching his twelfth year A he a"e 

low m" r S " aS ^° l " Kl ° Ut t0 ' ' eani the P rinti °S business at Av«a 
Iowa, but after six months he left that place and returned to Harlan tin 

?* : h z i :; emaine for s r ra] years - workin « '-"• «* H -'- Tribut 

.1 S8t Vr 3 p " Set the fil ' St * yPe ° n tHat ««• Which is stil > Pl- 

ashed. In 1881 Mr. Palmer organized the Irwin Spoke at Irwin Iowa hm 

afterward removed the plan, to Manning, that state, continuing t'h ^b.ica 

Kansa qT ^ Tt °" ** '* * Jm "^' i88 * * removed" 
Kansas C ty, M ssoun. and became foreman for a printing company but in 

ai ;r t ' : H , p!an ; "' a ? so,d anci our * ™ ^ « ": ; 

sohcito, to, the Hudson Kimberly Lithograph Company. Severing his con 
nection with that corporation, Mr. Palmer successfully passed the civi erv e 
xanunation and n, the following November was appointed to a po it io 
delivery clerk ,n the postoffice at Kansas City. Within six months of,, 

en^m o tzt °, his aw " ty and ciose app,icati °"- ■» - *££X 

s o,f F,T P ,"?.' i """ 1 "" 8 ' '° fi " that POSiti °" UndCr three *""»- 
strat ons. Failing health then compelled him to resign, and in 1S98 he was 

fn';:::;; e the t it, ,e fr™- Te r- postoffice ' "^ *« ***£^ 

office on the 15th of February. 1898. He continued therein until the 1st of 
November ,8 99 , having charge of the money order department, and during 
that period he handled one million one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, a 
part of the time filling the position without bonds. Failing health again com- 
pelled him to resign, and in tooo he accepted the position of emigration a* t 
for the Kansas City, Southern, H. C. & VV. T. Railroad Company, remain! Z 



34Q BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

formed the duties of that office with promptness and fidelity. He has a wide 
acquaintance throughout this portion of the county, especially in mining cir- 
cles, and the success which has attended his efforts is the outcome of unfal- 
tering energy and close attention to business. 

JUDGE W. H. RUSK. 

There are few men whose lives are crowned with the honor and respect 
which is universally accorded to Judge W. H. Rusk, but through many years' 
connection with Missouri's history his has been an unblemished character. 
With him success in life has been reached by his sterling qualities of mind and 
a heart true to every manly principle. He has never deviated from what his 
judgment would indicate to be right and honorable between his fellow men 
and himself, and after a long and eventful career he can look back over the 
past with pride and enjoy the remaining years of his earthly pilgrimage with 
a consciousness of having gained for himself, by his honorable, straightfor- 
ward career, the confidence and respect of the entire community in which he 
lives. 

Judge Rusk was born in the Old Dominion on the 27th of May, 181 5, 
a son of Benjamin D. and Mary (Moore) Rusk. In 1828 the father removed 
to Springfield, Illinois, where he passed his remaining days. His wife died 
previous to his removal to that state, and he was afterward again married, 
which event also occurred before his removal to Illinois. In early life he was 
engaged in the newspaper business, but later became a farmer. The son, 
\Y. H., accompanied his father on his removal to Springfield, Illinois, and 
after his marriage, in 1840, he removed to Schuyler county, Missouri. Sub- 
sequent to the Civil war he came to Jasper county, where he followed farming 
and stock-raising, having brought the first fine stock into the county. 

The Judge has always taken an active part in politics, and for twenty- 
two years he held the office of justice of the peace. He was then made county 
judge, having served with Judges McGregor, Green and others, and that court 
established the first school commissioner of Jasper county, which was also the 
first in the state. They separated the sheriff and collector's offices and the 
county clerk and recorder's offices, and established the township as it now 
exists. Our subject, indeed, proved a capable judge, — one whose adminis- 
tration of justice was marked by purity and uprightness, by sincere courtesy 
and the most thorough fairness. The influence of his deeds will live forever. 

The Judge has also proved himself a gallant and intrepid soldier. He 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 34i 

was one of John C. Fremont's explorers, and during the Mexican war served 
in the First Missouri Cavalry, under A. W. Donaphan. They were sent to 
Monterey, and he was with General Taylor until the war closed. During the 
Civil war Judge Rusk was a strong Union man, and in 1862 he enlisted in 
the cavalry service, remaining a loyal soldier until hostilities had ceased and 
peace was again declared. During his service he was stationed principally 
in Monroe county, Missouri, with the exception of about five months spent in 
Lafayette county. 

The Judge was married in Springfield, Illinois, in 1839, to Martha J. 
Conkling, a second cousin of the great Roscoe Conkling. Although they had 
no children of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Rusk reared seven orphan children, 
one of whom, Loretta C, they adopted. She is now the wife of Dr. Roper, 
of Jasper county. Mrs. Rusk was called to her home beyond in 1893, and 
her death was the cause of wide-spread regret, for she had ever lived a true 
and noble life. In his social relations the Judge is a prominent member of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and at the opening of the Civil war he 
was serving as deputy grand master for the state of Missouri. In all th'e 
relations of life Judge Rusk has been true and loyal to duty, and he holds 
distinctive precedence as an eminent judge, a man of high scientific and literary 
attainments, a valiant and patriotic soldier and a worthy and representative 
citizen. A strong mentality, an invincible courage, a most determined indi- 
viduality have so entered into his makeup as to render him y. natural leader 
of men and a director of opinion. 

A. E. BOQUA. 

Among the representative business men of Joplin is A. E. Boqua, who 
has aided in developing the natural resources of southwestern Missouri, and 
thus materially advanced the general prosperity while promoting' his individual 
success. Fie is now superintendent, treasurer and secretary of the Boqua 
Mining Company, which owns and operates some good mining property near 
Joplin, at the end of Third street. Perhaps no other industry has contributed 
so largely to the wealth of Jasper county as its mining interests, and in con- 
trol of these are men of marked business ability, in which class is numbered 
the subject of this review. 

Mr. Boqua is a native of Alton, Illinois, and a son of Andrew Boqua, 
who was born in this state, the family having been founded here at an early 
day in the period of its development. In his native city our subject pursued 



442 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Skinner and Miss Ella B. Burge, of that city, a most estimable lady, whose 
hospitable home is a favorite resort with the many friends she has made since 
coming to Joplin. In his political views the Doctor is a Republican and is 
deeply interested in the growth and success of the party, although he takes no 
part in its work, owing to the demands of his profession upon his time and 
attention. Socially he is a member of Mineral Lodge, No. 330, I. O. O. F., of 
Joplin ; also a medical examiner of the Modern Woodmen of America, of 
which he is an active member. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian. He is 
always courteous, kindly and affable, and those who know him personally have 
for him warm regard. 

J. A. BROOKSHIRE. 

J. A. Brookshire holds the responsible position of manager for the Kansas 
City Mining and Smelting Company and for ten years has been connected with 
mining interests in southwestern Missouri, making his home in Joplin. His 
record is that of an active and useful business career, in which honorable deal- 
ing, energy and strong determination have each played an important part. 

A native of Pettis county, Missouri, Mr. Brookshire was born on the 23d 
day of January, 1871, and is a son of Dr. H. C. Brookshire, of Joplin, who 
came to this place from Hickory county, Missouri, in 1897. His home was in 
Wheatland and there he not only won prominence in professional circles but 
was recognized as a leader in the Democratic party and was honored with the 
office of mayor of Wheatland. He is now a practitioner in Joplin and has 
taken his place among the foremost residents of the place. The son came to 
Joplin several years prior to the father, arriving in 1891, and throughout the 
intervening period he has engaged in mining with good success. He has been 
connected with several large mining properties and for some time was identi- 
fied with the Sooth Joplin Alining Company. He is now a well-known mine 
operator and the present efficient manager for the Kansas City Mining & 
Smelting Company, which is operating in Newton county, south of Jackson 
station. The interest of his employers he makes his own and his careful con- 
duct of their business affairs has won him their unqualified confidence. 

In Hickory county, Missouri, Mr. Brookshire was married, the lady of 
his choice being Miss Delilah Gardner, and unto them have been born four 
children, as, follows : Cecil, Gurtie, Ina and Glen. On the membership roll of 
the Odd Fellows' Lodge appears the name of Mr. Brookshire, who is also con- 
nected with the. Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of Pyramids, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 443 

and in all of these he has held office. He exercises his right of franchise in 
support of the men and measures of the Republican party, takes a deep interest 
in its growth and success, and in 1900 was elected to the city conned. Such 
in brief is the history of one of the representative citizens of Joplin, a man 
whom to know is to respect and honor, and who in all relations of life com- 
mands the confidence of those with whom he is associated. 

GEORGE E. St. JOHN. 

George E. St. John, who enjoys the distinction of being one of the most 
enterprising and successful farmers of Jasper county, was born in Burlington, 
Racine county, Wisconsin, July 19, 1849, a son ot " Andrew W. and Elizabeth 
St. John, natives of the state of Xew York. In an early day the parents re- 
moved to Wisconsin, where the father died two months before the birth of 
our subject. They were the parents of two children, and the brother. A. \\ ., 
now resides in Mena, Arkansas. He was the founder of the Carthage Press, 
of Carthage, Missouri, of which he was the editor and proprietor for some 
time, but in 1896 he sold his interests here and removed to Mena, establishing 
the Mena Star, of which he is still the publisher. 

George E. St. John, whose name forms the caption of this review, re- 
moved to Albert Eea, Freeborn county, Minnesota, when eight years of age, 
and there he attended the district schools during the winter months, while in 
the summer season he worked as a farm hand. He spent about twelve years 
in that city, and during a portion of that time was employed as a clerk in a 
store. He next removed to Iowa, was afterward employed as a clerk in a 
grocery store at Macon. Missouri, and in 1866 came to Jasper count}-. After 
his arrival here he first engaged in contracting and building, continuing that 
occupation at intervals for a number of years, and many of the finest buildings 
of Carthage stand as monuments to his thrift and ability. When his brother 
established the Carthage Press our subject became interested in that paper, on 
which lie was engaged as reporter and solicitor, continuing in that occupation 
until about 1896. In that year he removed to his farm, two and a half miles 
from the courthouse, on section 15, Jackson township. The place had been 
purchased some twelve years previous, and Mr. St. John now owns one hun- 
dred and five acres of the best land to be found in his locality. Before locating 
on his farm he served as superintendent of mines at Alba, holding that p< >si- 
tion at the opening of the mines on the Thacker ground, known as the Cornell 
mines, and was also superintendent of the Central City mines. 



444 . BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Mr. St. John married Miss Lucy B. Backus, a native of New York. She 
is in w assistant editor of the Carthage Press, having entered the office of that 
paper at the same time in which her husband became interested in journalistic 
work, and she is now one of the oldest employes of the office. Mr. and Mrs. 
St. John have two daughters — Carrie is the wife of Ralph Wiley, and they 
arc both studying violin music in Germany. Mamie is a graduate of the high 
school '4" this city and now attending the business college at Carthage. On 
questions of national importance Mr. St. John casts his ballot in favor of Re- 
publican principles, but at local elections he votes for the men whom he re- 
gards as best qualified for office, regardless of party ties. 



/ 



GEORGE W. MILLER, M. D. 



Engaged in the practice of medicine in Joplin, Dr. Miller has been a 
resident of the city since 1891. He is a native of Fayette county, Pennsyl- 
vania, born in 1845. His great-grandfather removed from Burlington. New 
Jersey, to Fayette county, his people being of the Quaker sect, and in the latter 
place occurred the birth of Joseph Miller and Thomas Miller, the grand- 
father and father of the Doctor. The mother bore the maiden name of 
Hannah Rammage, and she, too, was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. 

Dr. Miller pursued his education in the schools of his native county and 
after completing his literary course took up the study of medicine. He is a 
graduate of the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, of New York City, of the 
class of 1880 and has pursued post-graduate courses in the New York Poly- 
clinic, where he spent one year. He has also taken several other special 
courses, thus being particularly well qualified for the discharge of the im- 
portant duties that devolve upon physicians, in whose hands are the issues 
of life and death. At length he determined upon seeking his fortune in the 
west, believing that he would have better business opportunities in a country 
where competition is not so great as in the older east. Accordingly he came 
to Missouri and settled in Joplin, where he has made his home continuously 
for the past ten years. His patronage has constantly increased and he now 
lias a large and profitable practice. During the greater part of his residence 
here he has been a member of the board of pension examiners, and he is a 
member of the Jasper County Medical Society and the American Medical As- 
sociation. 

The Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Strauss, a native of 
Williamsport, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, where her people located in 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 447 

pioneer times. Dr. and Airs. Miller now have one daughter, Mildred. The 
Doctor is a Republican in his political views and gives his support to the 
men and measures of the party, but the honors and emoluments of office have 
had no attraction for him, as he prefers to devote his energies to his pro- 
fessional duties, his devotion thereto being proverbial. He now has the patron- 
age of many of the best homes in the city and his merit is widely acknowledged. 

>f HIRAM SMITH. 

Hiram Smith, a prominent farmer on section 10, Jackson township, has 
made this locality his home for the past twenty-three years, and during the in- 
tervening period he has so conducted all his affairs as to gain the respect and 
esteem of all with whom he has had business or social intercourse. A native 
of Warren county, Illinois, he first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 
10th of February, 1845, a son of Silas and Elizabeth (Morrow) Smith, the 
former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Indiana. They became early 
pioneers of Warren count)-, Illinois, where the father followed agricultural 
pursuits. 

Hiram Smith, the subject of this review, was left an orphan when a small 
child, and thus from early life he has been obliged to depend upon his own re- 
sources for a livelihood. Success is not measured by the heights which one 
may chance to occupy, but by the distance between the starting point and the 
altitude he has reached; therefore Mr. Smith has gained a most brilliant suc- 
cess. — a just reward of meritorious, honorable effort, which commands the re- 
spect and admiration of all. When nine years ago he began working by the 
month as a farm hand, ami while thus engaged he attended school during the 
winter months. He subsequently went to Iowa, and in 1859 made the trip 
across the plains to Pike's Peak with teams and wagons, where he remained 
for about three years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Potta- 
wattomie county, Iowa, where he remained but a short time, however, and 
then located in Jackson county, Missouri, where he was engaged in teaming 
and threshing. In 1877 he took up his residence in Jasper county, where he 
has since been engaged in farming and threshing in Jackson township. At one 
time he owned a valuable farm of three hundred and twenty acres, but he has 
since sold a part of his land, being now the possessor of a tract of thirty-seven 
acres, which is located on section 10, Jackson township. In addition to his 
general farming interests Mr. Smith is also extensively engaged in threshing, 
having done more work in that line than anv other man in the county, and he 



346 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Since severing his connection with mining interests Mr. DeGraff has 
invested his money in government bonds and real estate, and has also be- 
come an important factor in financial circles of Jasper county. On the 4th 
of February, 1901, he organized the Citizens' State Bank, capitalized for 
twenty-five thousand dollars. Connected with the institution are some of the 
best known and most reliable residents of this portion of the state. The 
officers are: C. M. DeGraff, president; F. T. Snapp, cashier; and J. W. Free- 
man, vice-president ; while in addition to these the following named are upon 
the board of directors : C. S. Poole, R. A. Loomis, E. P. Barr and W. H. 
Warren. All of these gentlemen are stockholders and other prominent persons 
who own stock in the bank and add to its reliability are : Charles Schiffer- 
decker, W. J. J. Leffen, Galen Spencer, J. H. Dangerfield, Fred Duffelmeyer, 
Guy R. Davis, J. W. King, John S. Long, John B. Serage, W. E. Hamm, 
Alfred Reynolds, A. F. Donnan, O. B. Davison, John George, Marion Staples, 
W. H. Fairbanks, L. A. Fillmore, W. S. Crane, J. T. Owen, Frank D. Jones, 
E. W. Jones, F. H. Warren, John H. Stephens, Dennis McCarthy, J. C. 
Warren, G. W. Koehler, Z. H. Lowdermilk, Elizabeth A. Amsden, G. T. 
Warren, Allen Dixon and G. W. Burgess. Such a list is sufficient evidence 
of the standing of the bank, which, under the able management of Mr. De- 
Graff, has already secured a good patronage and is doing a creditable banking- 
business. He is also one of the stockholders and a director in the First Na- 
tional Bank, of Joplin. 

Mr. DeGraff is a member of the Business Men's Club and one of the 
leading representatives of financial and industrial interests in the county. He 
belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and in his political be- 
lief is a stalwart Republican. Since the 1st of July, 1901, he has served 
as treasurer of the board of education, and is a public-spirited citizen, deeply 
interested in the general welfare. 

JOHN H. CAPE. 

John H. Cape, who since 1886 has been a resident of Joplin and has been 
actively associated with mining inteests, is a native of southeastern Missouri, 
his birth having occurred near Desota. His people were pioneers of that por- 
tion of the state and took an active part in its development and upbuilding, 
reclaiming its wild lands for purposes of civilization. 

The boyhood days of our subject were quietly passed. He had some 
duties to perform and in the school-room he passed a portion of his time and 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 347 

also enjoyed the pleasures of the playground. Since entering upon his busi- 
ness career he has worked his way steadily upward, overcoming all difficulties 
and obstacles in his path by determined purpose and energy. He has been 
connected with the St. Louis Ore & Steel Company and the St. Joseph Lead 
Company, acting as superintendent of both through a considerable period. 
In 1886 he came to Joplin and acted as superintendent for different companies, 
and since 1900 has superintended the Royal Blue mine on the Granby land 
and the Imperial mine on the Continental land. These mines were opened in 
1896 and the former was known as Blakny No. 2 and the latter as the Lead 
Mule mine. Before the present company was incorporated he was in the 
service of the Luther Company, controlling the Lead Mule mine. Since first 
assuming control of these mines Mr. Cape has remained in continuous charge, 
superintending their operation, and. he also operates two mines on his own 
account, one of which is the Jackson, Jr. He is also engaged in prospecting 
to a considerable extent, and has done much to develop the mineral resources 
of the county and thus add to the general prosperity of the stockholders. He 
is well qualified for his present position, for long study and experience have 
enabled him to quickly recognize the possibilities of ore, the quality of the 
metal and what it will produce. 

The lady who now bears the name of Mrs. Cape was Miss Anna Grace 
in her maidenhood, a daughter of Thomas J. Grace, a pioneer settler of Chari- 
ton county, Missouri, where occurred the birth of Mrs. Cape, who is a most 
estimable lady, and with her husband enjoys the high regard of many friends. 
This union has resulted in the birth of one daughter, Marvel A. He is a 
Mason and belongs to the blue lodge, chapter and council, and in his life he 
exemplifies the beneficent and helpful spirit of the fraternity. 



J 



FREEMAN REES. 



One of the highly steemed old settlers of Jasper county is Freeman Rees, 
who resides on section 32, Marion township. His birth occurred near Lan- 
caster, Fairfield county, Ohio, September 21, 1832, and he was a son of 
Morris and Jane (Smith) Rees, and a grandson of Morris Rees, who was 
of Welsh descent and was one of the first settlers of Fairfield county, Ohio. 
The father of our subject was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and 
in 1799 accompanied his father to Ohio, where he lived until he was eighty- 
six years old, dying in 1878. He married Jane Smith, who was born in Cum- 
berland county, Pennsylvania, and was about fourteen years old when she 



448 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

has owned in all ten threshing machines. In both branches of his business he 
has met with a gratifying degree of success. 

In 1873 Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Mary Byers, a native of 
Iowa, and they have six children — Getha Olive, Ernest, Edgar, Roy, Peter 
Earl and Pearl. The eldest daughter is the wife of Lenos Robertson. Mr. 
Smith gives his political preference to the Democracy, and in the ranks of his 
party he has taken an active and leading part, having served as township com- 
missioner for three terms and in other local offices. In his social relations he 
is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Home Pro- 
tective Association. He is thoroughly identified with the section in which he 
lives, and has a host of warm friends in Jasper county. 



WILLIAM H. WOODSON, M. D. 

A descendant of one of the old families of Virginia and Kentucky and the 
representative of an equally prominent one in Missouri, William H. Woodson,. 
M. D., of Joplin, is well-known in Jasper county, where his own ability as a 
physician has gained him the esteem and confidence of the public. Judge Sam- 
uel H. Woodson, his grandfather, was a native of this state, and was promi- 
nent in the legal profession in the pioneer times. Later he was chosen to repre- 
sent his fellow citizens in congress and was for many years judge of the 
court of appeals, dying on the bench, in Kansas City. His services are re- 
membered in his section and his name is recorded among the statesmen of 
Missouri. 

Scarcely less distinguished is the father of our subject, William II. Wood- 
son, the well-known criminal lawyer who. is a resident of Liberty. Clay county, 
Missouri, and has been one of the most active politicians in this part of the 
state for a number of years. The mother of our subject was Miss Cora Win- 
ston, who was born in Platte county, Missouri, and was a daughter of the gal- 
lant Colonel John Winston, a distinguished officer in the Confederate army 
and a member of congress from Platte county. He died in that county, at the 
age of eighty-nine years. 

Dr. Woodson was graduated at the University Medical College at Kansas 
City, in 1896, and was made house surgeon of the German Hospital in Kan- 
sas City for one year and then practiced his profession in Clay county, coming 
to Joplin in 1898. So skilled was his work and so thorough his knowledge 
that in 1900 he was appointed physician to the city health officer and has given 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 449 

close and attentive work to this branch ever since. Although Dr. Woodson is 
a young man among many older practitioners in the state, he is forging to the 
front and is building up a large and lucrative practice. 

^ JAMES A. MILES. 

James A. Miles, who is now living a retired life in Joplin, is numbered 
among the pioneer settlers of Jasper county, where he has made his home since 
1868. For a number of years he was connected with agricultural pursuits and 
thus laid the foundation for his prosperity, which was largely increased 
through the rise in land values, whereby he became financially independent. 

Mr. Miles is a native of Wayne county, Ohio-, his birth having occurred 
near Wooster. He was reared, however, in Medina county, to which place his 
parents removed. His father, James Miles, was a pioneer of the western re- 
serve, emigrating to that portion of Ohio> from Vermont at a very early day. 
His father was one of the heroes of the Revolutionary war, and, being captured, 
was held as a prisoner of war on a British ship. The mother of our subject 
bore the maiden name of Sophia Waite and was a daughter of Benjamin 
Waite, who left his home in the Green Mountain state and made his way west- 
ward to> Ohio, settling in Cuyahoga county, near Cleveland, where many of 
the family are still living. James and Sophia Miles had two sons who were 
Union soldiers in the Civil war, enlisting with Iowa regiments, and one was 
killed at the battle of Pittsburg Landing. 

In the state of his nativity James A. Miles attended the public schools and 
worked on the home farm, early becoming familiar with all the duties and 
labors which fall to the lot of the agriculturist. In 1852 he moved to Jackson 
county, Iowa, remaining there until 1868, when he arrived in Jasper county, 
Missouri, believing that he would have better opportunity for advancement in 
business life than in the older and more thickly settled states of the east. He 
made his way to Carthage, where he carried on the wagon-making and black- 
smithing trade for two years, and then secured a farm three miles west of the 
present site of Joplin, in Chit wood Hollow. In 1870 he purchased two hun- 
dred and twenty acres of land, on a part of which Central City now stands. 
There he resided until 1900, carrying on farming and stock-raising, but as op- 
portunity offered he disposed of portions of his land at excellent prices. When 
it was discovered that much of this country was underlaid with rich deposits 
of lead and zinc the land rapidly rose in value, and Mr. Miles, taking advantage 
of his opportunity, sold one forty-acre tract for twelve thousand dollars, an- 



450 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTV. 

other for six thousand dollars, a third for four thousand and six hundred, and 
the remaining forty acres was given to his son, who sold it at a handsome 
figure. It is all being prospected and mined at the present time. The rise in 
land values has brought to him a handsome competence and now, with a snug 
bank account, he is enjoying a well earned rest at his pleasant home in Joplin. 

In October, 1853, Mr. Miles was joined in wedlock to Miss Rebecca 
Prussia, a daughter of George Prussia, a native of Pennsylvania. The lady 
was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and when nine years of age accompanied 
her parents to Jackson county, Iowa, where her girlhood days were passed 
and her marriage was celebrated. Their children are four in number. The 
eldest son, O. E. Miles, attended the schools oi Joplin, completing the high 
school course, and was also a student in the schools oi Carthage. For several 
terms he successfully engaged in teaching and then prepared for a different 
line of business by pursuing a course in civil engineering at Lebanon, Ohio. 
He has served as county engineer for two terms in Jasper county and as city 
engineer of Joplin for two terms. He was largely engaged on the construc- 
tion of the electric line in this county, and is now building an electric street car 
line from Sherman to Denison, Texas. He possesses superior skill and ability 
for his work, and takes high rank as an expert civil engineer. C. N. Miles, 
the second son, also pursued his education in Joplin and in Carthage, and 
formerly engaged in mining and farming, but, selling his land at a splendid 
figure, he is now living retired in Joplin. Henrietta E. Miles is now the wife 
of Evi Martin, who attended the schools oi Joplin and afterward continued 
his education in the east. He became a mail clerk and is now a postoffice in- 
spector. Mettia Miles, the second daughter, is the wife of John P. Frank, a 
resident of Omaha, Nebraska. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Miles, oi this review, is a stalwart Repub- 
lican, and does all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success 
of the party, yet has never desired political preferment. His life has been 
quietly passed in earnest devotion to his business affairs and his home duties, 
and his fidelity to all that is upright and honorable has won him the high re- 
gard of all with whom he has been brought in contact. 



y 



HON. WILLIAM J. SAILOR. 

In Ohio as elsewhere the self-made man is much in evidence and Ohioans 
in Missouri have contributed their full share toward the development of the 
state. Among those who have come from the Buckeye state and are now living 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 45* 

in Jasper county who are deserving of especial mention in a work of this char- 
acter, the Hon. William J. Sailor is numbered. He lives on section 26, Jasper 
township, and was born November 19, J 847, in that portion of Morgan 
county, Ohio, which is now Noble county. His parents were the Rev. E. and 
jemima ( Peckingpaugh ) Sailor. His father, who was a minister of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, was born in Ohio, in 1822, and died in Pike county, 
that state, in 1896, aged seventy-four years. Samuel Sailor, father of the 
Rev. E. Sailor, was of Swiss descent and was born in Westmoreland county, 
Pennsylvania. He was a pioneer in Ohio, where he settled in 1803. Jemina 
Peckingpaugh was born in that part of the Old Dominion which is now known 
as West Virginia, and in her childhood was taken to Ohio, where she died in 
1893. Her father, John Peckingpaugh, of German extraction, was born and 
reared in Virginia and was a comparatively early settler in Ohio. The Rev. . 
E. and Jemima (Peckingpaugh) Sailor were the parents of eight children, 
seven of whom grew to manhood and womanhood. The subject of this sketch 
was the fourth in order of birth and also the fourth son. 

The Hon. William J. Sailor was taken by his parents to Pike county,. 
Ohio, in 1857, when he was about eight years old, and was educated there in 
country schools and at the Waverly high school, in which institution he was 
graduated in 1868. During the succeeding three years he taught school in 
Ohio, and in 1871 came to Jasper county, Missouri, locating at Medoc. He 
taught school in that vicinity until 1874, when he went to the Pacific coasty 
where he remained a year and a half, spending most of the time in> 
in California. He went thence to Dallas, Texas. After teaching school in 
Dallas county for two years, he returned to Medoc, Jasper county, where he 
has taught ever since — sixteen years of the time in one district. In 1894 the 
Hon. William J. Sailor was admitted to the bar of Jasper county to practice 
law in the courts of Missouri, but has not entered actively upon the work of 
his profession. 

Mr. Sailor was married September 9, 1871, to Emma Swank, a native - 
of Vermilion county, Illinois, who has borne him five children, named as fol- 
lows : Joseph W\, who is a teacher, and Minnie, Clarence, Lewis and Lillian. 
Politically Mr. Sailor is a Republican and from his young manhood has been 
active in the work of his party. From 1872 to' 1874 he ably filled the office of 
justice of the peace and in 1895 he was elected to> represent his district in the 
state legislature, in which body he was chairman of the committee on mines 
and mining. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and 
is known as an intellectual and progressive citizen, up-to-date in all his ideas 



452 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

and fully alive to the demands of the times. His interest in the progress and 
prosperity of Jasper county is deep and abiding and every measure which 
promises to benefit any considerable number of his fellow citizens receives his 
hearty and influential support. 

JUDGE JAMES L. HAINES. 

Identified with the agricultural interests of Jasper county, Missouri, 
Judge James L. Haines has figured prominently in the development and prog- 
ress of this section of the state and in the events which form its history. He 
has lived an honorable, upright life, has won prosperity through determined 
purpose and indefatigable energy, and at all times enjoys the esteem of his 
fellow men by reason of those sterling qualities which in every land and every 
clime awaken admiration and regard. 

Judge Haines was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on the 27th 
of January, 1852, a son of Mark and Mary (Cook) Haines, natives also of 
Lancaster county. The father followed farming as a life occupation, and his 
death occurred in the county of his nativity when he had reached the age of 
sixty-five years. The mother was called to the home beyond in 1859. They 
were the parents of eight children, of whom four sons and three daughters 
grew to years of maturity, and James L. was the youngest of the family. His 
primary education was received in the common schools of the Keystone state, 
and in 1864 h e became a student in the Westtown Academy, while in 1868 he 
entered Unionville Academy. In 1869, when seventeen years of age, he left 
the state of his birth and removed to- Tazewell county, Illinois, settling near 
Delavan, where he remained until 1873. In that year he located near Bloom- 
ington, in McLean county, Illinois, where he purchased and operated a farm 
lor three years, thence removing to Labette county, Kansas. In that county 
he also purchased a farm, and continued its operation until 1884, when he 
sold his possessions there and came to Jasper county, Missouri, locating on the 
place where he now resides. His farm consists of one hundred and sixty acres 
of the best land to be found in this locality, his fields being under a high state 
of cultivation, and everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appear- 
ance. In addition to his farming operations Mr. Haines is also interested 
quite extensively in real estate at Asbury, Missouri. 

In Illinois, on the 10th of September, 1874, occurred his marriage with 
Mary J. Clement, who- was born near Woodbury, Gloucester county, New 
jersey. She was only four years of age when she was taken by her parents to- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 453 

McLean county, Illinois, the family locating near Bloomington, where she re- 
ceived her education in the common schools. Her parents were also natives 
of New Jersey, their marriage being celebrated in Gloucester county, that state. 
Their union was blessed with ten children, Mrs. Haines being the fourth in 
order of birth. Unto our subject and wife have been born four children, name- 
ly : William M., of Bloomington, Illinois; Mary S., who is attending Webb 
City College; and Mabel and Harry L., both deceased. In his political affilia- 
tions Mr, Haines is a stanch supporter of Republican principles, and in 1894 
he was the choice of his party for the office of justice of the peace, in which 
he served for four years. In his social relations he is a prominent member of 
the Masonic order, holding membership in the lodge at Chetopa, Kansas. He 
was reared in the Quaker faith, his parents having been members of that re- 
ligious sect. 






CLIFTON I. BAKER. 



In different parts of Missouri are small settlements of English people, the 
members of which rank among the best citizens of the state. Men and women 
of English birth are not very numerous in Jasper county, Missouri, but where- 
ever the}- are found they ably uphold the reputation of their countrymen else- 
where. One of the best known citizens of Jasper township is Clifton I. Baker, 
a farmer on section 22, who was born in Lorain county, Ohio, September 21, 
1859, of English-born parents. His father, Castle Baker, a native of Kent, 
England, was there reared and married. He came to America in 185 1, and 
located on a farm in Lorain county, Ohio, where he is living at this time. He 
had succeeded as a farmer in England and he succeeded in Lorain county, 
where he is the owner of much valuable land. His wife, who was Caroline 
Hills, was also a native of Kent, England. She died at the age of fifty-two 
years. They had eight children, five sons and three daughters, of whom four 
sons and one daughter are living. 

Clifton I. Baker, who was the fourth child of his parents in order of na- 
tivitv and their third son, was reared in Lorain county, Ohio, and was edu- 
cated in the public schools there. On the 5th of February, 1S78. when he 
was between eighteen and nineteen years of age, he married Jennie E. Martin, 
who was born in Cornwall, England, in 1857. and at the age of nine years 
was brought by her parents to Lorain county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Baker 
have five children, named as follows : Lora Jennie, Floyd Clifton, Clyde Mar- 
tin, Eda Mary and Saloma Caroline, all of whom are members of their parents' 



454 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

household, bright and promising young people, healthy alike in mind and 
body, not one of whom has ever been sick even for a day or required the 
services of a physician. 

Mr. Baker farmed in Lorain county until 1884, when he removed to 
Jasper county, Missouri, and bought one hundred and sixty acres of his pres- 
ent farm, the area of which was increased by subsequent purchases to two 
hundred and eighty acres. Agriculturally his farm is very productive, and 
it also contains good deposits of coal, which he has mined very profitably, 
and a fine stone quarry. Some time ago he set out one thousand apple trees, 
eight hundred of which lived and became productive. 

Mr. Baker, who is an ardent Republican, devoted to the principles of his 
party, is a leading man in his township. He is an influential member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, upon the services of which his family are regular 
attendants, and he is a member of Medoc Lodge, No, 6238, Modern Woodmen 
of America, in which order his life is insured for the amount of three thousand 
dollars. Progressive as he has shown himself to be as a farmer, he has been 
no less progressive in everything that has pertained to good citizenship. His 
interest in public education has impelled him to cast his influence always for 
the perfection and enlargement of educational facilities. The question of 
good roads has from time to time engaged his thoughts, and he has always 
advocated improvement of roads as the most certain means to' the enhance- 
ment of real-estate values in the county. No movement having for its object 
the betterment of the condition or prospects of any considerable number of his 
fellow citizens has failed to secure his hearty and substantial aid. 






CHARLES R. MITCHELL. 



Character and ability are as essential to the success of the farmer as to 
the business man, and it is safe to' assume that the successful farmer is a good 
citizen even without inquiring into the details of his career, and a brief state- 
ment of the principal events in the life of a man like the subject of this sketch 
is interesting alike to the general reader and toi the student of our national 
progress. 

Charles R. Mitchell, who lives on section 3, Jasper township, Jasper 
county, was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, March 29, 1870, a son of Ed- 
ward D. and Hannah (Hilderbrandt) Mitchell. His father was born in Illi- 
nois, and was an early settler in St. Clair county, whence in 1877 he came 
to Jasper county, Missouri, where he died in 1895, aged sixty-two years- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 455 

He was a Democrat in politics, a Methodist in religious faith, and an influ- 
ential citizen. Hannah Hilderbrandt, who became his wife, was born in 
Germany, and was brought to America in her childhood by her parents. 
She died December 17, 1900. 

Of the seven children of Edward D. and Hannah (Hilderbrandt) 
Mitchell, Charles R. Mitchell was the sixth in order of birth. "When, in 1877, 
his parents removed from St. Clair county, Illinois, to Jasper county, Mis- 
souri, and located on the farm on which he now lives, he was seven years old. 
His share of the old Mitchell homestead consisted of eighty acres, and his 
place is well equipped and in a high state of cultivation. He has devoted 
himself quite successfully to general farming. Politically he is a Democrat. 
He has tilled the offices of school director of his school district and constable 
O'f his township. He is a member of the Order of the Woodmen of the 
World. 

In 1897 Mr. Mitchell married Miss Edna Ault, daughter of Isaac Ault, 
and they have one son, Russell A. Mitchell. 

JACOB JOHNSON. 

Jacob Johnson, who is a prominent farmer of Jasper county, residing 
on section iy : Marion township, was born in Warren county, New Jersey, on 
April 7, 1829. His parents were James and Polly (Criger) Johnson, the 
former also a native of New Jersey and a farmer by occupation. His father 
was Vincent Johnson, who was a native of the same state and was probably 
of English ancestry. James Johnson served in the war of 1812, but died on 
his home farm at the age of forty-eight years. The mother of our subject 
was a daughter of George Crig^er, who was born in Germany, but located in 
New Jersey prior to- his daughter's birth. Five children were burn t<> the 
parents of our subject, and he was the second child and the only son. His 
boyhood and youth were spent in New Jersey, and in 185 1 he married Re- 
becca Major, who> was born in 1833. She was a native of Pennsylvania, and 
was the daughter of James and Hester (Bitters) Major, both of whom were 
born in Pennsylvania. The father was a cooper by trade and he carried on 
that business all his life, dying at the age of sixty-seven. His wife lived to 
be about forty-five, and they were the parents of five children. 

Until 1854 Mr. Johnson remained in his native county. He was a cooper 
by trade and found plenty of work, but a fine opening presented itself in Michi- 
gan and he removed there and later opened up a shop in Schoolcraft. Tie 

24 



456 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

was a resident of that place until 1878, and then came to Jasper county, Mis- 
souri, where he bought a farm on section 16, Marion township, and located 
thereon, immediately beginning its improvement. Until 1881 he carried on 
general farming, and then bought one hundred and sixty acres additional, 
west of his old place, and upon this tract erected his present attractive resi- 
dence in 1895. Mr. Johnson is a large land-owner, possessing three quarter 
sections, much of which is under cultivation. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are well and favorably known in Jasper 
county, as are their three sons, — Harold, Willis and Millard. These sons 
are settled in the county, and our subject and wife are happy in their five 
grandchildren, — LeRoy, Mina, Bessie, Earl and Mildred. The family are 
leading members of the Methodist church, and Mr. Johnson is a Knight Tem- 
plar, having been connected with the Masonic order for many years. In 
politics he is a Republican, and is one of the representative men of the county. 

~i HENRY J. MINK. 

Among the substantal and highly respected farmers of Jasper county, 
residing on section 3, Duval township, is Henry J. Mink, an old settler and/ 
one of the self-made men of this locality. His birth occurred in Lehigh 
county, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1836. Both his father and grandfather 
were natives of the same state, and the former was a blacksmith by occupation. 
He married Gertrude Smith, also a native of Pennsylvania. 

Both his parents died when Henry Mink was but six years old, and from 
that time he has made his own way in the world. Among strangers and 
with no> home, the situation was enough to> daunt the heart of one older than 
a child of six, but Henry Mink early displayed those characteristics which 
have brought him wealth and prominence. Realizing his position, he eagerly 
assisted on the farms in the neighborhood and thus earned his board and 
clothes, and when seventeen years old learned the carpenter's trade. In i860 
he married Miss Lavina Christy, who was born in Pickaway county, Ohio. 
To this union six children were born, as follows : Emma, deceased ; Frank, 
of Preston township ; William, of Oregon ; Arch, of Duval township ; Abra- 
ham, at home; and Edward, who died at the age of eighteen years. 

In 1859 Mr. Mink removed to Missouri and located in Clark county, 
where he remained until 1867, when he came to Jasper county, settling about 
two miles south of Carthage. There he worked at his trade until 1877, and 
the next year entered into the sawmill business southwest of Joplin. About 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 457 

this time he located on his present farm, which contained a small house. He 
also conducted sawmills in Duval township and in Cedar county, Missouri. 
His farm is now one of the best improved and finely cultivated in' the county. 
It contains three hundred and eighty acres, and with the exception of forty 
acres all is cultivated and is yielding rich returns. Mr. Mink is one of the 
self-made men of Jasper county, and well deserves the high esteem in which 
he is held. While he has accumulated much land, having a farm in both 
Jackson and Duval townships, he has also done much building, many of the 
houses and barns in this vicinity being his work. In politics he is a Prohibi- 
tionist, being a strong temperance man and always using his influence in that 
direction. He was reared in the Lutheran church, but since coming to Jasper 
county has not connected himself with any denomination, contributing freely 
to all religious objects irrespective of creed. 

The Christy family, to which Mrs. Mink belongs, is an old one of Penn- 
sylvania and Ohio. John Christy, her great-grandfather, died in 1830, at 
the age of eighty years, and Nancy, his wife, died in 1817, in the sixty-fourth 
year of her age. They were of Holland ancestry, and at an early day came 
to Fairfield, Ohio. Grandfather Abraham Christy was born in Lan- 
caster county, Pennsylvania, June 8, 1780, and died on October 13, 1831. 
He married Catherine Gearhart, who was born in Lehigh county, Pennsyl- 
vania, February 1, 1781, and in 1802 became his wife. She died June 7, 
1832, and was buried at East Ringgold, Pickaway county, Ohio. Abraham 
Christy, Jr., the father of Mrs. Mink, was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, 
where he resided until he went to Clark count)-, Missouri, in 1856." ' There 
he died at the age of seventy-nine years. He wedded Elizabeth Warner, 
who was born in Fairfield, Ohio, and died at the age of seventy-nine years' 
A family of nine children were born to her parents, three daughters and six 
sons, and the daughters and three sous grew to maturity. Mrs. Mink was 
about eighteen years old when she came to Missouri. She has seen much 
of the wonderful development of the country during the many intervening- 
years, and is most highly esteemed in this locality. 

J. C. HECK. 

A successful farmer, prominent citizen and highly esteemed member and 
minister of the German Baptist church is J. C. Heck, who resides on his farm 
on section 32, Marion township, and is one of the best known residents of the 
county. He was born on a farm located ten miles west of Springfield, Clark 



45« BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

county, Ohio, October 21, 1849. His grandfather, Peter Heck, was born in. 
German) 7 and was the founder of the family in America. He located in Vir- 
ginia,, but later moved to Ohio, and was one of the members of the German/ 
Baptist church in Clark county. 

Samuel Heck, the father of our subject, who was born in Virginia and 
came with his parents to Ohio when a child, was reared and married in the 
latter state, and he, too 1 , was one of the leading members of the German Bap- 
tist church. He married Barbara Click, who was born in Clark county, Ohio, 
and there spent her whole life. She was one of the daughters of Joel Click, 
who was a well-known member of the German Baptist church. The parents 
of our subject had thirteen children, and eight of these are still living. 

Our subject was the sixth child of the family, and was reared simply 
in this pious family, where he received instruction from a worthy mother, 
which early in life turned his thoughts toward the ministry. He attended 
the common schools of his neighborhood and remained on the farm at home 
until his own marriage. This took place November 5, 1872, when Miss 
Jemima Shoup became his wife. She was born February 28, 1854, in Greene 
county, Ohio; and was the daughter of Daniel M. and Maria (Wampler) 
Shoup. Her grandfather, Moses Shoup, was born in Pennsylvania, and was 
a well known minister in the German Baptist church. His ancestors came 
to America from Switzerland. Her maternal grandfather, Philip Wampler, 
was also a minister in the German Baptist church and was a native of Penn- 
sylvania. The father of Mrs. Heck still resides in Ohio-, but her mother died 
in 1900. Her parents were members of the German Baptist church, and had 
a family of twelve children, six sons and six daughters, all of whom grew 
to maturity and reared families of their own. In this family Mrs. Heck 
was the third daughter and the fifth child. 

A family of eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Heck, namely : 
Bertha May, who- died in her third year; Jesse W., who lives at home; Ada, 
who married R. I. Montgomery, of Newton county, Missouri, and lives in 
Jasper county; Samuel M., who also lives at home; Edward, John, Anna M. 
and Leroy, all with their parents. 

Following his marriage Mr. Heck located on a farm in Clark county, 
Ohio, and there engaged in general farming until 1878, when he decided to 
remove to Missouri and become the owner of some of the rich land in Jasper 
county. The first settlement the family made was on Buck Branch, five miles 
northwest of Carthage, where they remained about two and one-half years 
and then removed to the town, where Mr. Heck engaged in the agricultural': 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 459 

implement business, but after two and one-half years he bought the farm upon 
which he now resides. This consists of ninety acres and is well located, and 
he also* owns a tract of two hundred and sixty acres in Duval township, eleven 
miles northwest of Carthage, which he rents. His farming and stock-raising 
have been very successful, but Mr. Heck is not only prominent on this account. 
Ever since he has been a resident of the county he has been actively employed 
in advancing the interests of his section to the best of his ability, and has built 
up a record as a progressive citizen. Twice a month he ministers to the 
spiritual needs of his congregation in the church in Carthage, and can always 
be relied upon to give help to every worthy object. He has taken little interest 
in political matters, the only vote he ever cast being for the Democratic candi- 
date in 1896. The family is held in high esteem in Jasper county, and is a 
representative one of the best class of its citizens, quiet, orderly, of strict 
integrity, and at the same time favoring every moral and educational measure. 

L. C. HENDERSON. 

L. C. Henderson, one of the leading and successful fanners and miners 
•of Jasper county, was born in Lancaster county, South Carolina, November 
2.J, 1865. His father, James M. Henderson, was a native of North Carolina, 
where he edited and published a paper, and his death occurred in 1865. The 
mother of our subject, who was in her maidenhood Lena Caston, was a native 
of South Carolina, and is still living in her native state. Her father, G. L. 
Caston, had twenty-two brothers and two sisters, and all of the brothers 
wore the Confederate uniform in the Civil war. 

L. C. Henderson, the subject of this review, was his parents' only chifll, 
and at the early age of thirteen years he left the parental roof to make his 
own way in the world, his total possessions at that time consisting of a dollar 
and sixty-five cents. He began mining in the Ash county mines, where he 
remained for six years, and he then located at St. Joseph, Missouri, still con- 
tinuing mining operations. He next removed to Webb City, Jasper county, 
where he followed the same occupation for seventeen years and in which he 
is still engaged in connection with agricultural pursuits. He is interested 
in the California mine, at Midway, and has a mill at Dublin and one on his; 
farm. He owns two hundred and forty acres of land, all of which is under 
a fine state of cultivation. In both branches of his business success has 
abundantly rewarded his efforts, and he is now recognized as one of the weal- 
ihv and prominent residents of Jasper count}'. 



460 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

In 1884, at Webb City, was celebrated tbe marriage of Mr. Henderson 
and Miss Z. G. Million, a native of Iowa, but reared and educated in Webb 
City, Missouri. She is a daughter of Clara Million, an old and prominent 
resident of this city. Two children have graced this marriage, — Claud and 
Hazel. Mr. Henderson upholds the principles of the Democracy in political 
matters, and socially he is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Knights 
of Pythias. Mr. Henderson is truly a self-made man, having depended upon 
his own resources from the early age of thirteen years, and all that he now 
possesses is the result of persistent purpose, unfaltering efforts and wise judg- 
ment. These qualities have enabled him to climb the ladder to success and have 
placed him among the representative and honored citizens of the common- 
wealth. 



y 



REV. WILLIAM CLINE. 



Prominently identified with the farming", educational and religious inter- 
ests of Jasper county is the Rev. William Cline, who resides on section 29, 
Duval township. He was born in Fulton county, Illinois, January 2, 1857, 
his parents being Henry and Clara (Wads worth) Cline, the former of whom 
was a son of Jonas Cline, a native of Richland county, Ohio. He was a 
blacksmith by trade and became one of the early settlers and farmers of Ful- 
ton count}', Illinois, where he died. He was of German descent and was a 
most worthy citizen. 

Henry Cline, the father of our subject, was born in Richland county, 
Ohio, and came to Fulton county, Illinois, with his parents when three years 
old. He was reared, educated and married in Fulton county, and in 1872 
came to Jasper county, Missouri, locating on the farm which our subject 
now occupies. Here he engaged in general farming, and also> conducted a 
blacksmith business until his death, at the age of sixty-five years. In politics 
he was a Democrat, and was one of the leading members of the New Light 
church. The mother of our subject was Clara (Wadsworth) Cline, the 
daughter of William Wadsworth, who was a native of Illinois. Her grand- 
father, William Wadsworth, Sr., was an officer in the Revolutionary war. 
She was born in Greene county, Illinois, and still survives, at the age of sixty 
years. Four sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cline: William, Charles, Merion 
and Milton. 

Our subject, the eldest of the family, was reared in his native county 
and obtained his education in the common schools there, coming with his- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 461 

parents to Jasper county in 1872. School advantages were given him here, 
and as soon as he was old enough he assisted on the farm and also in the 
blacksmith shop, and spent six months in a machine shop in Carthage. Im- 
mediately following his marriage Mr. Cline located on the old homestead, 
where he still resides, and has been here continuously with the exception of 
about six months spent in Webb City in 1891, at which time he began his 
ministerial work in the Baptist church. For seven years he served the church 
at Providence and two years at Little Flock, in Mineral township, where he 
has met with encouraging success. The home farm which Mr. Cline operates 
consists of eighty acres, and it is well cultivated and finely improved. 

Mr. Cline was married in 1889 to Miss Ella Fairfield, who was booi in 
Allen county, Indiana, but was brought to Jasper county when a child, in 
1871. The children of this union are: Deela, Frank, Harvey, Restcom, 
Anna, Montford and Maud, all of them residents of Jasper county, while 
Nellie and Valley died in infancy. 

In all matters pertaining to* the advancement of his section Mr. Cline has 
taken an active part. In politics he is a Prohibitionist, and his influence has 
been felt in the temperance movement. The prosperity of the Sunday-schools 
of his church has been very dear to Mr. Cline, and he has spent time and 
strength in this branch of the church work, and is the earnest president of 
the Sunday-school Association. Mr. Cline is well and favorably known all 
over the county, and is one of the men who has a high purpose in life and 
faithfully performs his duy. 

CHARLES MONK. 

The Kansas division of the San Francisco Railroad has no more effi- 
cient official than Charles Monk, who has charge of the water supply at Car- 
thage, Missouri. Mr. Monk was born in Smethwick, England, in August, 
1838, and he was the son of Edward and Elizabeth (Mills) Monk, both of 
whom passed their lives in England, where the father was a merchant, dealing 
in all kinds of lumber. 

Charles Monk was given a common-school education, and at the age of 
sixteen years became an employe of a rolling mill and learned the trade of 
machinist. After being discharged as perfectly competent, he traveled as a 
journeyman, working at his trade through England, but became anxious to 
seek his fortunes in America. In 1867 he reached New York, from there 
went to Philadelphia, and in that city found plenty of work for three years, 



462 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

at the end of that period going to the mines at Weatherby, Carbon county, 
Pennsylvania., but secured employment in the machine shops of the Lehigh 
Valley Railroad Company and remained with that corporation until 1880. 

In 1 88 1 Mr. Monk came to Springfield, Missouri, and entered into the 
employ of the San Francisco Railroad. He was sent from the machine shops 
there to Joplin to work in the round-house, and in 1882 came to Carthage, 
being entrusted with the important position he now holds. Honesty and in- 
dustry have brought him success, and he now enjoys the perfect confidence 
of the great road he serves so faithfully. 

Mr. Monk was married to Miss Mary Ann Lester, who was born in 
England, and was a daughter of William Lester, who was also a native of 
Smethwick. The six children of Mr. and Mrs. Monk are: Walter; Samuel 
E. ; Alfred; Charles W. ; Laura, who married Clement Hubbard; and Anna. 
Mr. Monk owns a fine farm of one hundred and eighty-four acres of land 
in Marion township, which is occupied by his son Alfred, and he also owns 
property in Carthage, his comfortable residence being on North Garrison 
avenue. Not only is Mr. Monk held in high regard by the company as one 
of their most reliable men, but he is also the object of respect and esteem in 
the community which is his home. 






PROF. W. B. JOINER. 



The name of Professor W.'B. Joiner is closely associated with the edu- 
cational interests of southwestern Missouri, and he is regarded as a repre- 
sentative and prominent citizen of Joplin, where he is now located as presi- 
dent of the Joplin Business College. He was born in Galena township, Jasper 
eounty, in 1861, a son of J. C. and Elizabeth (Pinson) Joiner. His father, 
a native of Pike county, Missouri, was a sou of Willis Joiner, one of the 
honored pioneers of northwestern Missouri, to which place he emigrated from 
North Carolina during the early period of development in this state. The 
maternal grandfather, Josiah Pinson, became a resident of Joplin township, 
Jasper county, and owned the land upon which the town of East Joplin has 
since been built. With his family he came from Kentucky to Missouri in 
pioneer times and in 1861 all removed to Texas. Josiah Pinson was a prom- 
inent Baptist minister in southwestern Missouri during the early period of 
progress and left the impress of his individuality upon the moral development 
of the locality. 

In northeastern Missouri J. C. Joiner spent the days of his boyhood and 




W. B. JOINER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 465 

youth, and in 1856 he came to Jasper county, taking up his abode in Galena 
township, about four miles west of Joplin. There he made his home for 
some time, devoting his energies to farming and stock-raising. He placed his 
land under a high state, of cultivation and in his pastures kept good grades 
of stock, so that both branches of his business proved profitable. He was a 
prominent and influential citizen, well known all over the county. In 1890 he 
removed to Texas, settling at Abilene, and in that locality he is now ex- 
tensively engaged in farming and stock-raising. 

On the old family homestead in Galena township, Professor Joiner was 
reared in the usual manner of farmer lads of the period, and until twentv 
years of age he pursued his education in the district schools near his home, 
also taking a two-years' course at the Pierce City Baptist College, afterwards 
pursued a course of study in the Gem City Business College, of Quincy, Illi- 
nois, in which he was graduated, and also completed a course in a business 
college in Keokuk. Iowa. Since becoming its president the Joplin Business 
College has constantly grown in attendance and has made a rapid stride 
toward perfection, so that it now ranks among the best of the kind in the 
country. In manner Professor Joiner is courteous, kindly and genial and 
at the same time he sustains the dignity of his position. He enjoys the re- 
spect and regard of his pupils and has many warm friends in business and 
social circles in his native county. 

THE JOPLIN BUSINESS COLLEGE. 

The requirements of business life in all its departments are so much 
more exacting at the present time than they were a half century, or even a 
quarter of a century ago, that it is demanded of those who enter the business 
world and expect to gain success that they shall be well qualified for their 
duties by a preliminary training in business methods and practices. To tlius 
equip one for the duties and responsibilties which come as one enters in- 
dustrial, commercial or professional fields there have sprung up all over the 
country business colleges, which are an excellent training school for later 
life. To this class belongs The Joplin Business College, which was estab- 
lished in 1891, and of which Professor W. B. Joiner has been president since 
1897. I n the Joplin Daily Globe of February 17, 1901, appeared an article 
concerning this institution, from which we freely quote. It said : 

"Among the institutions of which this city may feel justly proud, none 
holds higher rank among similar institutions in this country than the Joplin 



466 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IASPER COUNTY. 

Business College. This enterprise, since its inception, has been constantly 
growing in prestige and has also expanded its facilities until to-day no col^ 
lege of like character in the southwest can equal it. To merely make this 
statement would be a meaningless platitude. The proof of it is furnished by 
the complete equipment the college possesses, the standing of the graduates 
which it has turned out and the ability of the instructors whom it employs. 
When President Joiner moved the college into its new home in the Emmons- 
Miller building on West Fourth street, in 1900, it was his aim to tit up the 
rooms as comfortably and conveniently as could be accomplished, and in this 
purpose he has succeeded admirably. There is an air of elegance around the 
place that is rarely found in an educational institution, and at the same time 
the rooms are fully adapted to the purpose of instruction. The college oc- 
cupies the entire third floor of the building and embraces six rooms, each of 
which is devoted to a single department of the work. A large corridor from 
the stairway gives convenient access to all the rooms. 

"To the south of the building is the actual business department, in charge 
of Professor George A. Livermore. Here merchandise is bought and sold, 
a banking business carried on, and the various operations of wholesale, retail 
and commission transactions carried out by the pupils. There is located here 
a bank, a commission house, commercial exchange and a wholesale house, each 
with complete office fixtures in oak and with plate glass and hard wood 
screens. A college currency is used in the transactions and with tickets rep- 
resenting merchandise. The pupils keep a system of books, thus by actual 
practice learning all the details of actual work in all lines of business. In 
the same room are oak roll-to]) desks for each individual pupil, and office chairs, 
and at these desks they do all the work. To the north of this room is the 
typewriter department. The Smith-Premier and the Remington machines are 
used and there are large numbers of both. The shorthand department is ac- 
commodated in two very large, well-lighted and airy rooms on the north of 
the building. One room is used for the instruction of students just beginning 
in the branch, while the other is for advanced work in dictation. 

"The largest department of all is devoted to teaching' the theory of busi- 
ness and bookkeeping. This is undoubtedly the most elegant lecture room 
in the state. Back of this room is another lecture room fitted up for instruc- 
tion in grammar, business law, arithmetic, Spanish and other branches. The 
offices of the college are located on the second floor and include a large general 
office and the private office of Professor Joiner. The teachers are competent, 
interested in their work and helpful at all times. The shorthand and type- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 467 

writing departments are under the supervision of Mrs. W. B. Joiner and 
Miss Marie Toohey; the bookkeeping department in charge of Professor T. E. 
Fowles, while Professor C. B. Walker is instructor in Spanish and the other 
branches of study are taught by very competent people." 

The attendance at the school has increased annually and is now one hun- 
dred and fifteen. The course is very thorough, well equipping the students, 
for the responsibilities of business life and the pupils take a high standing 
and fill important positions in various cities, an average scholarship of ninety 
per cent, being required for graduation. The institution is a credit to the 
city and an important factor in educational circles in this portion of the 
country. It draws its students from Missouri and adjoining states, and sends 
them forth well equipped to take up the duties of business life. 

JOHN A. GADDIS. 

One of the beautiful and fertile farms of Jasper county, Missouri, is the 
property of John A. Gaddis, a leading agriculturist of the locality. He was 
born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, August 2, 1833, a son of Jacob and 
Sarah (Combs) Gaddis, both natives of the Keystone state. The father fol- 
lowed flat-boating on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and later engaged in 
farming. His death occurred in the state of his nativity. 

John A. Gaddis, the sixth in order of birth of his parents' ten children, 
was reared and educated in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and at the age of 
about twenty years he came to the west, locating near Iowa City, Iowa, where 
he worked at anything that would yield him an honest living. After about 
three years spent at different places in that state he returned to Pennsyl- 
vania, but a short time afterward removed to Vernon county, Missouri, where 
he remained about one year, thence going to Cherokee county, Kansas, locat- 
ing near the Jasper county line. While there residing the accumulations of 
many years of hard and persistent toil were swept from him owing to the 
great Rebellion, even his wheat in the fields being destroyed, but with great 
fortitude and courage he set about to retrieve his lost possessions. About 
Christmas time of 1862 he enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming a 
private of Company C, Sixth Kansas Cavalry, and served until 1865. Dur- 
ing his army career he was held as a prisoner of war in Texas for one year, 
but was never wounded, although he had many close calls, — at one time a 
bullet having passed through his hat. He took part in the battle of Prairie 
Grove and many other important engagements, and on receiving his discharge 



468 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

he returned to Kansas, locating in Greenwood county, where he was engaged 
in the stock-raising business for about two years. For the following four 
years he followed the same occupation and also conducted the trading post 
in the Indian nation. He was next engaged in the stock business in Wash- 
ington and Idaho for ten years. In 1886 he went to South America, remain- 
ing eight months, and the following winter fed cattle in Peabody, Kansas. 
Later he engaged in buying and shipping stock in Kansas City, and the next 
three years were spent in Texas. He then located in Oronogo. At the latter 
place he engaged in prospecting and mining, having developed the Gaddis 
mine at that place, but in 1898 he sold his interests there and purchased the 
farm of two hundred and forty acres on which he now resides. His prop- 
erty is located 011 section 3, Preston township, and is a rich and valuable tract. 
On the 17th of May, 1898, Mr. Gaddis was united in marriage with 
Lizzie Pringle. In political matters he is a firm believer in the principles set 
forth by the Republican platform, and takes an active interest in the work 
of his party. Socially he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. 
and for many years has held membership in the Masonic fraternity. Person- 
ally Mr. Gaddis is genial and social, enjoys good fellowship and is a most 
companionable friend. His life furnishes an example of energy, persever- 
ance and loyalty to principle well worthy of emulation. 

THOMAS L. CONE. 

As a representative of the class of substantial builders of a great com- 
monwealth who have served faithfully and long in the enterprising west, we 
present the subject of this review, who is a -pioneer of Missouri, and nobly 
has he performed his duty in the work necessary to produce the wonderful 
development which has here taken place. He is the pioneer merchant and 
postmaster o<f the town. 

A native o>f Athens county, Ohio, Mr. Cone was born on the 24th of 
May, 1837. His paternal grandfather was a native of Connecticut, and was 
of English descent, while his father, Albert B. Cone, also a native of that 
state, was reared in New York, and was a carpenter, farmer and minister, 
having spent the last years of his life in preaching the gospel in Athens county, 
Ohio. He was connected with the United Brethren church and was a circuit 
rider in Ohio 1 . He lived to the age of eighty-six years, and at his death the 
community mourned the loss of one of its truest and noblest citizens. The 
mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Sarah McCune, was a 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 469 

native of Pennsylvania, and was of Scotch and Dutch descent, her father 
having been born in Scotland, while her mother was a native of the Keystone 
state. She was brought to Ohio when about four years of age, and hers was 
a long and useful career, reaching the ripe old age of ninety years. Mr. and 
Mrs. Cone became the parents of ten children, live daughters and rive sons, 
and nine of the number grew to manhood and womanhood. 

Thomas L. Cone, the ninth child and fourth son in the above family, 
was reared to manhood in his native county, there enjoying the educational 
advantages afforded by the district schools. In January, i860, he came to 
Jasper county, Missouri, locating at Sherwood, near Carl Junction. He had . 
learned the carpenter's trade in his youth, and after his arrival here he began 
working at that trade, and since that time he has erected many of the sub- 
stantial buildings of the locality, among the number being the old stone resi- 
dence of Judge Hunt. In December, 1861, he removed to Fort Scott, Kan- 
sas, where he was engaged in farming and in buying and selling stock until 
February, 1866, when he returned to this county, locating at his present resi- 
dence. Here he embarked in the mercantile business, putting in a stock of 
dry goods in an old log school-house, and thus became the pioneer merchant 
of the town. After the close of the war he still continued his mercantile inter- 
ests in the old lo-g school-house for six months, when he moved into the con- 
crete building, but in 1889 he erected his present store building at Brest, into 
which he moved his stock. In 1872, however, he sold his store and for the 
following seven years he followed the tilling of the soil in Preston township. 
He then repurchased his dry-goods store, and has since been engaged in that 
business, being now the oldest merchant in the county. He also owns a fine 
farm of one hundred and twenty acres in addition to his store property, which 
consists of ten acres. 

In Jasper county, Missouri, in 1861, occurred the marriage of Air. Cone 
and Miss M. M. Prigmore, a native of this county and a daughter of John 
and Sarah Prigmore, who were among the early pioneer settlers of the county, 
their residence here dating from 1837. Unto our subject and his wife have 
been born eight children, four sons and four daughters, namely : Charles E. ; 
Lucia L. ; Elmer C. ; James, who married Maggie Jackson; Marcia, wife" of 
Irwin Collier; Luther P., Augusta E. and Yola, at home. Mr. Cone is a 
stanch supporter of Republican principles, and has taken an active interest in 
the work of his party, having attended many of its conventions and has held 
many local offices, including those of register and justice of the peace. He 
is the pioneer postmaster of the county, having been the second postmaster 



470 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

appointed after the war, and has held the office most of the time since, being 
the present incumbent. He is now one of the oldest citizens of the county, 
and is well known throughout its length and breadth, having a host of warm 
friends. With all he is very popular, and we take pleasure in presenting his 
life record in this volume. 



J 



WILLIAM H. PRICE. 



There is no community in which the high-minded physician is without 
honor, and of the able medical practitioners of Missouri none is more highly 
regarded by his fellow townsmen that William H. Price, of Carterville, Jasper 
county. The Doctor was born at Cleveland, Tennessee, the seat of justice 
of Bradley county, February 3, 1849, a- son °^ Hiram C. and Barbara (Price) 
Price, his mother having been a member of a family of Prices, which, so far 
as is known, bears no relationship to the paternal line. His father was a na- 
tive of North Carolina, and was taken to Tennessee in his childhood. In 
1856 Mr. and Mrs. Price and their family moved west, and Mr. Price died 
at Bentonville, Arkansas, February 20, 1875. Hiram C. Price's father, Will- 
iam Price, of Carterville, Missouri, a native of Tennessee, married Miss So- 
phronia Culbertson, who was of Welsh descent. The Doctor's grandfathers 
in both lines fought for American independence in the Revolutionary war. 

Dr. William H. Price acquired a good primary education and finished his 
English and classical studies at Kane Hill College. He read medicine with 
Drs. Plummer & Smith, of Washburn, Missouri, and after taking the requi- 
site lectures at the American Medical College, at St. Lonis, Missouri, he en- 
tered upon the practice of his profession at Bloomfield, Benton county, Arkan- 
sas, where he met with considerable success, remaining there three years. 
In 1875 he removed to Carterville, Jasper county, where his professional en- 
deavors have been abundantly rewarded. He is a member O'f the Southwest 
Missouri Medical Society. He was for three years in the drug trade, but, on 
account of pressure of professional business, sold his store to J. P. Hart, 
who< had been his clerk. He has built a fine country residence on a farm 
which he owns between Carthage and Carterville. 

In 1878 Dr. Price married Miss Jennie Victor, daughter of Edward Vic- 
tor, of Carterville, and they have one daughter, Minnie L., who is now attend- 
ing school. He was received as an entered apprentice, passed the fellowcraft 
degree and was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in Carterville 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY 



47i 



Lodge, No. 401, A. F. & A. M., and was exalted to the august degree of 
Royal Arch Mason in the chapter in Joplin. For three rears he was a mem- 
ber of the Cartervillle schooll board. 



s/ 



JAMES W. OLIVER. 



Among the well-known farmers of Jasper county in the vicinity of Sar- 
coxie is James W. Oliver, who is a native of this county, born here October 
13, 1858, his parents being B. S. and Jane (McGinnis) Oliver, the former 
born in Allen county, Kentucky, while the latter was a native or Missouri. 
James William Oliver, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Kentucky, 
married a Miss Swearinghim, and both died in Allen county. B. S. Oliver' 
the father of our subject, came to Jasper county in 1848, and since that 
time has been a successful farmer here. Both he and wife are consistent 
members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and are among the most 
highly regarded residents of the county. They had two children,— our sub- 
ject and Alma, who died at the age of five years. 

In the common and high schools of Sarcoxie our subject obtained his 
education and early became a farmer. He has done some milling., but his 
leading business has been on agricultural lines, and he is an extensive land- 
owner. In Sarcoxie township he owns one hundred and ninety-seven acres 
and one hundred and ninety acres in Union township, while a large tract of 
land within the town limits belongs to him. Mr. Oliver has made a great suc- 
cess in the breeding of thoroughbred Jersey cattle and owns much fine stock. 

On May 20, 1884, Mr. Oliver was married to Miss Lulu E. Mathews, 
who was born in Gasconade county, Missouri. Both he and wife are mem- 
bers of the Fourth Methodist church, where they are highly esteemed. Fra- 
ternally he is connected with Sarcoxie Lodge, No. 293, A. F. & A. M. Mr. 
Oliver and father have been life-long Democrats, but are not seekers after 
office, being content to perform their duties as good citizens, and as such are 
among the most valued in the .neighborhood. 



\ 



EDWIN E. SPRACKLEX. 



It is probable that more startling and rapid developments have been made 
in photography during the last half century than in any other department of 
human industry, except, perhaps, in the application of electricity to the every- 
day purposes of life. One of the most progressive photographers in Missouri 



472 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

is Edwin E. Spracklen, of Webb City, Jasper count}-, where he is not only 
known as an artistic photographer, but a somewhat extensive dealer in picture 
frames and art sundries. 

Mr. Spracklen is a native of the island of Guernsey, in the British chan- 
nel, and was born December 7, 1853, a son of Samuel and Eliza (Eveligh) 
Spracklen. When he was a child his parents removed to< London, province 
of Ontario, Canada, and his father became a farmer and died in Canada. His 
mother is living with her daughter in Quebec. Mr. Spracklen gained a prac- 
tical education in the public schools of Canada, and began to study and prac- 
tice photography there in London, and for a time afterward was connected 
with a photographic gallery in Chicago, Later he traveled over much of the 
western part of the United States, devoting his energies to his profession in 
different cities and towns until 1880, when he opened a photographic gallery 
in Webb City, Jasper county, which he has since operated with much success. 
He has made a careful study of everything appertaining to the advancement 
of photography, and the excellence of his work is such that it attracts attention 
everywhere. He is an active member of the Photographic Association of 
the state of Missouri, and his standing as a citizen may be inferred from the 
fact that in 1898 he was elected mayor of his city, in which responsible position 
he served two years with great ability and credit. 

In October, 1886, Mr. Spracklen married Miss Mollie Rice, of Webb 
City, a daughter of J. A. Rice, and they have three daughters and three sons : 
Marvine R., Bernard B., Emery E., Mary Elizabeth, Maurine and Grace. 

WILLIAM WATERS. 

A successful farmer of Jasper county was William Waters, who resided 
for a number of years on a fine farm in section 3, Twin Grove township. His 
birth was in Cornwall, England, on January 15, 1836. Some time later than 
i860 he came to the United States and visited the mining regions of Lake Su- 
perior, and extended his journeyings as far west as Colorado and Montana, 
finally coming to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1866. He was a practical miner 
and followed that line of work in Joplin, Galena, Greeley and adjacent regions 
until 1880, when he began to farm. His death occurred in 1890, and many 
were sad over the loss of so kind a neighbor and so faithful a friend as 
"Charley" Waters, as he was affectionately called. Mr. Waters was a Demo- 
crat in his political belief. 

Mrs. Waters, the widow of William Waters, was in girlhood Miss Sarah- 




WILLIAM WATERS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 475 

Dasher, and she was born in Pemberton county, West Virginia, on January 
30, 1 841. She was a daughter of Charles W. and Rebecca (Wonsterf) 
Dasher. Her father, a cabinet-maker and farmer, was born in West Virginia 
and came to Morgan county, Missouri, in 1853, later moving to Cass count)-. 
where he died in 1892. The mother of Mrs. Waters also was a native of West 
Virginia and her death occurred in July, 1868. Their family consisted of 
four children, and of this family Airs. Waters was the second child and the 
oldest daughter. She was about twelve years of age when the family re- 
moved to Morgan county, and there she grew to womanhood and there "mar- 
ried Joseph J. Chaney, who was a native of Morgan county. Three children 
were born to this marriage, viz. : Louisa A., the widow of E. T. Barnes, of 
Colorado; Addison L., at home with his mother; and Susan Isabel, the wife 
of John Hendrickson, of Webb City. 

Airs. Waters came to Jasper county in 1867 and here was married to 
William Waters. Two children were born to this marriage, but both are de- 
ceased. For eleven years she resided in Joplin, and for the past twenty-one 
years has lived on her present fine farm of one hundred and thirty-three acres. 
She also owned other property but has disposed of that. Her farm is very 
productive and she rents the greater part of it, receiving a fine income from it. 
Mrs. Waters is well-known through Jasper county and is held in the highest 
esteem by all. 

A. S. TILLEY. 

A successful farmer of Jasper county who has acquired much land and 
has also won public esteem, is A. S. Tilley, the owner of a fine farm of two 
hundred and seventy acres, which he has placed in Aery productive condition 
and admirably improved. This is naturally very gratifying to Mr. Tilley, 
lor it represents both energy and industry, as our subject came to Missouri 
hampered by limited means. 

A. S. Tilley was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, September 7, 1832, 
and was a son of William and Mary (McDowel) Tilley, both of whom were 
natives of Virginia. After their marriage they removed to Kentucky, and 
there reared a family of six children, four of them still surviving, these being: 
A. S. ; a sister, who lives in Jasper count)- ; a brother who is a resident of 
Oklahoma; and another sister, who lives in the northern part of this state. 
Both Mr. Tilley and his wife are worthy members of the Christian church. 

The boyhood and earl)- manhood of our subject were spent in Kentucky, 
where lie was well educated in private schools. In i860, with his wife anil 

25 



476 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

child, he moved to Illinois and became a substitute in the Union army. After 
nine years of residence in the Prairie state he came to Missouri, where he 
located in Jasper county, buying a farm of forty acres. Here he has pros- 
pered and now owns one of the best farms in this section, consisting" of two 
hundred and seventy acres of valuable and improved land, which he has 
earned by his excellent management and industry. He has given considerable 
attention to the breeding of red polled cattle and owns many line specimens 
of this breed. 

In 1859 Mr. Tiller was united in marriage to' Miss Lucinda Sagser, who 
was born in Henry county, Kentucky, and to them have been born six chil- 
dren, namely: Alice; Arabel ; Laura and Charles L., deceased; Bertha; and 
Olie. who has also passed away. Since he was twenty-three years of age 
our subject has been connected with the Masonic order and is a member of 
Sarcoxie Lodge, No. 293. His political attachment is to the Democratic 
party, but he has never sought office, although his record as a good citizen 
would qualify him for many positions of trust and confidence. Through the 
county wherever he is known he is respected, and his friends are many in his 
immediate locality. 

F. W. REED. 

Among the enterprising and successful young business men of Jasper 
county is F. W. Reed, a rising attorney who has been in active practice in this 
county since 1896. Mr. Reed was born July 31, 1868, a son of William and 
Angelica ( Woltz) Reecl, who were old settlers of Jasper county. His father 
became a large landholder in this county and was a prominent man for a num- 
ber of years, the village of Reeds being named in his honor. 

F. W. Reed was reared in this county and received his primary education 
in the public schools in preparation for a higher course, and later he spent three 
years at Drury College, and finished a liberal education at the Arkansas State 
University. Two years were then spent in the study of law, and in 1896 he 
was admitted to the bar, immediately locating at Reeds, Missouri, where he 
enjoys the distinction of being the only legal advisor in the place. 

Mr. Reed is much interested in Democratic politics and is a leader in his 
1' >cality. He has charge of large property interests and engages extensively in 
fanning and stock-raising on the two hundred acres belonging to his father's 
estate. The greater part of this land is in Sarcoxie township, near Reeds, and 
in connection he has in charge some one hundred and fifty town lots, many o<f 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 477 

which have been well improved. His ability and knowledge of the land laws 
have brought Mr. Reed into prominence and there is every promise of a bright 
future for him in his profession. 

v GUSTAV POXCOT. 

One of the prosperous farmer-citizens of Jasper county is Gustav Pon- 
cot, who was born in France, June 24, 1842. Plis parents came to> the United 
States in 1854 and settled in Osage county, Missouri, where they passed the 
rest of their lives. In 1882 Mr. Poncot came to> Jasper county and bought the 
fine farm which he now occupies, which consists of one hundred and twenty 
acres, near Reeds, Missouri. In politics he is a Republican, and he is well and 
favorably known through this section. 

In 1865 Mr. Poncot was married to Miss Estelle Perrier, who was born 
in St. Louis, Missouri, and was the daughter of August and Justine Perrier, 
who came to the state of Missouri from France. The children born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Poncot are as follows : Belle, who is the wife of J. T. Burks, of 
Bowers Mill ; Amelia, who is the wife of S. C. White, a carpenter residing in 
Reeds ; Edmund S. ; and Annie, at home. 

Edmund S. Poncot, who was born December 31, 1873, is one of the most 
promising young men of this county. His education has been thorough and 
he is a graduate of several colleges and has been a teacher since he was seven- 
teen years of age. In 1899 he was graduated at the University of Missouri, 
and in 1900 at Central College at Indianapolis, Indiana, receiving the degree 
of Doctor of Pharmacy, and for the past two years has been a member of the 
faculty of the University of Missouri, having had experience as an instructor 
in the Park City Baptist College and Ozark College of Greenfield, Missouri, 
and Red River College of Granville, Texas. His plans for the coming year 
are connected with the Columbia University, of New York, where he will be 
one of the faculty. His friends predict a brilliant future for this young man. 

^ JAMES M. McADAMS. 

The name of James McAdams figures conspicuously in connection with 
the political history of Jasper county during the past two decades, for he 
has been an important factor in molding the actions and controlling the policy 
of the Republican party in this section of the state. He is a loyal and patriotic 
citizen, who manifested his fidelity to the country upon the battlefields of the 



478 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

south throughout the Civil war, and since the restoration of peace he has 
labored effectively for the adoption of those measures and movements which 
he believes will prove of the greatest and most permanent good to the greatest 
number. 

Mr. McAdams is a native of Bond county, Illinois, his birth having there 
occurred in 1838. The family is of Scotch lineage and was founded in Amer- 
ica at an early day. The great-grandfather invented the methods of improv- 
ing roads now called macadamized. William McAdams, the grandfather, was 
a native of Scotland, and after coming to this country resided for a time in 
Tennessee. His son, Samuel McAdams, the father, was born near Nashville, 
that state, and served his country throughout the Mexican war, commanding 
a company at the front. He was also a captain in the Civil war and was killed 
near the close of hostilities, laying down his life as a ransom for the preserva- 
tion of the Union. His death occurred in December, 1864, when he was fifty- 
two years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Priscilla Smith, 
represented an old New England family. 

Under the parental roof the subject of this review spent his boyhood 
days, and after acquiring his preliminary education in the public schools he en- 
tered Asbury University, at Greencastle, Indiana. He then took up his abode 
in Illinois, where he was living at the time the war between the north and 
south was inaugurated. Prompted by a spirit of patriotism, he offered his 
services to* the government, enlisting as a private of the Twenty-second Illinois 
infantry. He served for four wars and his meritorious conduct won him pro- 
motion, so that at the time of his discharge he was serving as captain of Com- 
pany E. He was in all the battles with the Army of the Cumberland, and at 
different times was under the command of Generals Sheridan, Thomas and 
Rosecrans. At the battle of Stone River he was seriously wounded, but as 
soon as able he again took his place in the ranks and w T as ever found at his 
post of duty, a gallant defender of the stars and stripes. 

After the close of the war Captain McAdams returned to Bond county, 
and in 1875 was elected the county treasurer, which position he filled contin- 
uously until 1 88 1. In that year he removed to Sedan, Kansas, where he en- 
gaged in the stock business, finding it a profitable source of income. Since 
1890 he has been connected with mining interests at Joplin, and here, too, has 
been active in public service, for his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth 
and ability, have frequently called him to office. From 1890 until 1894 he 
was city councilman, and in the latter year he was elected justice of the peace 
of Joplin for a four years' term. On the expiration of that period he was 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 479 

again chosen to the office so that he is the present incumbent and his term will 
continue until 1902. 

The Captain was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Smith, a native of 
Clark county, Ohio. When a maiden of twelve summers she came west with 
her father, General Smith, who was born on the eastern shore of Maryland. 
The eldest child of Captain and Mrs. McAdams is Samuel Smith McAdams, of 
Chanute, Kansas, where he is engaged in farming and stock-raising. 

He married Miss Lulu McGriff, of Olney, Illinois, daughter of the Rev. 
James McGriff, and they have three sous — James M., Francis Bodkin and 
Donald. Mr. and Mrs. McAdams are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and for twenty years he has been identified with the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen. He also belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees. Over 
the record of his public career and private life there falls no shadow of wrong 
or suspicion of evil, and in this volume he well deserves representation. 

GILBERT BARBEE. 

Gilbert Barbee is a self-made man who, without any extraordinary fam- 
ily or pecuniary advantages at the commencement of life, has battled earnestlv 
and energetically, and by indomitable courage and integrity has achieved both 
■character and fortune. By sheer force of will and untiring effort he has 
worked his way upward and to-day he occupies an enviable position among 
those whose labors have brought to them prosperity. 

Mr. Barbee is a native of Newton county, Missouri. Flis father, James 
M. Barbae, was a pioneer of this section of the state, where he became a well- 
to-do farmer and stockman. He married Louisa Lee, whose people removed 
from South Carolina to Tennessee, and from the latter state the parents of 
our subject came to Missouri. The father was killed during the Civil war 
and our subject was thus thrown upon his own resources when only twelve 
years of age. He has since been dependent upon his own resources so that 
-whatever success he has achieved is the result of his management and business 
ability. After the cessation of hostilities between the north and the south he 
"began work as a farm hand, and later entered the railroad service, being thus 
engaged until 1872, when he came to Joplin and has since been identified with 
the mining interests of Jasper county. He was one of the first to engage in 
the development of the rich mineral resources of this portion of the state, and 
through the past thirty years he has owned, developed and sold many mines. 
For many years he worked in the mines, and his investments and labors 



480 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

brought to him a rich financial return. He has also owned and handled much 
valued real estate and his possessions now include considerable valuable 
property in both Jasper and Newton counties. This includes both city and 
farm property, improved and unimproved. He has erected a good many 
buildings in Joplin, which have greatly improved the city. In connection 
with S. A. McClelland he erected the first brick house, between Fourth and 
Fifth streets, and also- built the first three-story business block in Joplin. 

Mr. Barbee has been active in political circles as a supporter of the De- 
mocracy, and for five years has been a member of the Democratic state com- 
mittee. He is also very prominent as a political leader in Jasper county. So- 
cially he is a Mason, and also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows. He represents that class of typical American citizens who, while pro- 
moting individual prosperity, also* advance the welfare of the community in 
which they live. 



7 



TOHN M. MALANG. 



John M. Malang, who- is engaged in mining in Joplin, has been a resident 
of this city for almost a quarter of a century, having located here in 1877. 
He came here from Benton county, Indiana, where his birth occurred, and on 
the trip accompanied his parents, Joseph and Letetia ( Maloney ) Malang. 
The father was a native of Germany, and during his boyhood crossed the 
broad Atlantic to the new world, where he spent his remaining days. After 
coming to Joplin he engaged in the shoe business for several years, but is now 
deceased. His widow, however, still survives him and yet resides in this city, 
as does their son, Frank, who is identified with mining interests in this vicin- 
ity, and their daughter, Mary Graham. 

In the schools of Joplin John M. Malang pursued his education, and in 
his youth he picked up many stray but useful bits of information concerning 
mining, which proved of value to him when he entered upon an independent 
business career. When twenty years of age he began mining on his own ac- 
count and has opened up and been connected with a number of good proper- 
ties, including the Mast on mine at Galena, now the Boston and Springfield 
mine. His knowledge of the best methods of working a mine and of the value 
of the ore has enabled him to carry on a profitable business, and he is regarded 
as one of the leading representatives of this line of industry in Jasper county. 

Mr. Malang was united in marriage to Miss Anna Sigman, of Ellsworth, 
Kansas, a daughter of Edward Sigman, a ranchman living near Garden City. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 481 

They now have two sons, Ed and Benjamin, and they lost a child, Raymond. 
In politics Mr. Malang takes a deep interest, as every true American citizen 
should do. He gives his support to the Republican party and was its candi- 
date for county recorder, being defeated by only one vote, although the major- 
ity is usually strongly Democratic. For fifteen years he has been prominent 
in local and county politics, serving on the city and county central committees, 
and in 1896 he delivered many campaign addresses in his district. He is a 
valued member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and is also a 
representative of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. There has been nothing sensational in his career, 
every step has been thoughtfully and deliberately made, and every advance 
has been at the cost of hard and self-denying labor. He stands to-day a strong 
man, strong in the consciousness of well spent years, strong to plan and per- 
form, strong in his credit and good name, and a worthy example for young 
men to pattern after. 

HANS P. NIELSON, M. D. 

Most careful and comprehensive preparation has well fitted Dr. Xielson 
for the practice of medicine, and. although a young man, he nevertheless won 
a reputation for skill and ability that places him in the front rank among the 
medical practitioners of southwestern Missouri. He was born in the city of 
St. Joseph, in 1873, a son of Hans Nielson, a retired florist and capitalist. 
His mother bore the maiden name of Mary J. Penney, and engaged in treating 
diseases of the eye, her first husband, Dr. Crawford Adams, having for many 
years been a leading physician and eye specialist of St. Joseph. 

In his parents' home Dr. Nielson, of this review, passed the days of his 
boyhood and youth, and after acquiring his preliminary education he further 
continued his studies in Eastman's Business College, of Poughkeepsie, New 
York, and in the Danville Military College, at Danville, Kentucky. Deter- 
mining to make the practice of medicine his life work and thus alleviate the 
suffering of the race, he studied in the Ellsworth Medical College, of St. 
Joseph, in which he was graduated in 1899. He afterward took post-graduate 
work in the New York Eye and Ear College and in the Kapper Clinic, of New 
York City ; in the Willis Eye and Ear Clinic, of Philadelphia ; and in Chicago 
he pursued a course concerning the treatment of diseases of the ear, nose and 
throat. For one year he also read with Dr. Edward Pynchon, of Chicago, 
specialist on the diseases just mentioned ; was also a student under the direc- 



482 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

tion of Dr. Albert S. Ashmead, of New York city, a specialist in leprosy and 
other skin diseases, and late surgeon to the Japanese government ; and under 
his half-brother, Dr. Ed Crawford Adam§, a New York city specialist on the 
eye, who has won a very high reputation along his chosen line of work. His 
careful and extended preparation have made him particularly well qualified 
for his chosen work and already he has gained distinction among the medical 
fraternity of southwestern Missouri. 

The Doctor married Miss Lola M. Tracy, of St. Joseph, Missouri, a 
daughter of Captain Robert Tracy, one of the pioneer newspaper men of 
northwestern Missouri, and for many years associated with Silas Leland, of 
the Topeka Press. Mrs. Nielson's mother was Catherine McLinn, of Troy, 
Kansas, while H. D. Tracy, brother of Mrs. Nielson, is general manager of 
the Century Publishing Company, of New York city. The Doctor and his 
wife have many warm friends in Joplin. He has won that distinction and 
deference which the world instinctively pays to the man whose success has 
been worthily achieved, who has attained prosperity by honorable business 
methods, and acquired a high reputation in his chosen calling by merit. 



J 



THOMAS C. TONES. 



Jasper county, rich in its mineral resources, offers ample opportunity to 
him who would gain prosperity through a search for the metals which are 
extensively used in many lines of industrial and commercial activity. Nature 
seemed to have destined that residents of certain communities shall follow cer- 
tain pursuits. The great pine forests of Maine indicate lumbering as the lead- 
ing industry of the people of that state ; the great coal fields of Pennsylvania 
determine the occupation of the residents of the Keystone state; the broad 
prairies of Illinois, Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa attract the farmer; and the 
climate and soil of other sections of this great nation are fitted for fruit culture 
more than for any other pursuit, while underneath the hills and mountains of 
the west through ages long past there have been imbedded the metals which 
furnish work for the miner and mine operator. Within the last division Jas- 
per county is found, and embracing the opportunity furnished by nature, 
Thomas C. Jones has sought beneath the earth's surface of Jasper county the 
lead and zinc deposits, which, refined and transmuted, enter largely into 1 the 
commodities that give rise to commercial transactions. He is one of the own- 
ers and the superintendent of the Melville mines in Mineral township, and 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 483 

from a very earl}- age he has been identified with the mining interests of this 
section of the state. 

Mr. Jones is one of Missouri's native sons, his birth having occurred in 
St. Louis, December 1, 1865. His father, T. L. G. Jones, was born in St. 
Francois county, Missouri, and for many years was prominent in public life. 
In an early day he served as chief of police in St. Louis, was afterward United 
.States marshal and also held other positions, discharging every duty that de- 
volved upon him with conscientious obligation, with promptness and fidelity. 
He owned mining land in Newton county, Missouri, which he leased, but in 
1870 he removed to Granby and for a time was engaged in operating his min- 
ing land. His death occurred Nov. 6, 1887. His wife, who bore the maiden 
name of Sarah J. Vailey, was a native of St. Francois county, Missouri, and 
there spent her girlhood days. She still survives her husband and is now liv- 
ing in Webb City. They were the parents of eight children, four sons and 
four daughters, and all of the sons and two of the daughters reached adult age. 

7 nomas C. Jones, who was the third child and second son of the family, 
came to Jasper count}' when about eight years of age and here continued his 
education which had been begun in Granby. Newton county, but his privi- 
leges were limited after coming to this county, for he took his place as one of 
the busy workers of the world. He has been engaged in mining since twelve 
years of age. His first work in Jasper county was scraping tailings for the 
firm of Street & Brown, and later he began shoveling for them, remaining in 
their employ altogether for three years, during the last six months of which 
peri. >d he was their foreman. He then entered the employ of D. C. McConey 
as underground foreman and continued with him for three years, after which 
lie went to Joplin, where he leased land and engaged in prospecting for about 
a year. He then returned to Webb City, became connected with the Troup 
mines and built a mill, acting as general manager for a year. On the expira- 
tion of that period he removed to Galena, Kansas, and entering the employ of 
Colonel Pierce acted as his superintendent of mines and land. Another change 
in his business relations made him superintendent of the Silver Dick mines, 
owned by the Center Valley Land & Zinc Company, a position which he con- 
tinued to fill acceptably for about three or four years. The succeeding two 
years he spent with the American Zinc & Lead Smelting Company, and then 
entered into partnership with M. H. Hudson, of Kansas City, Missouri, now 
on a visit to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. They purchased the Melville 
mine in December, 1900, and are carrying on business under the name of the 
Melville Mining Company. Mr. Jones is not only one of the proprietors but 



484 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

is also the superintendent of the mine, which is a paving property. His pre- 
vious experience in all departments of mining well qualifies him to handle his 
own property to the best advantage and the enterprise is returning to them a 
good dividend on their investment. Mr. Jones also has considerable undevel- 
oped mining land in Jasper county, and, in connection with Walter M. Jac- 
card and A. Judah, he owns one hundred acres of mining land in Newton 
county, Missouri. 

In 1887 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Jones and Miss Ella Cox, 
an estimable lady of innate culture and refinement, who was born in Clinton, 
Missouri. Their home has been blessed with three interesting children : Corl, 
Cecil and Neil. The home is noted for its warm-hearted hospitality and good 
cheer and is a favorite resort with the many friends of the family. Mr. Jones 
exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Re- 
publican party, believes thoroughly in its principles and keeps well informed 
on the issues of the day. He is regarded as one of the leaders of the party in 
this locality, but has never sought office as a reward for party service. So- 
cially he is identified with the Knights of Pythias fraternity and with the 
Woodmen of the World. Almost a third of a century has passed since Mr. 
Jones came to this part of the state — years in which a wonderful change has 
been wrought in Jasper county. He has taken a deep interest in its progress 
and has aided in promoting its development and upbuilding especially along 
industrial lines. As the foregoing record shows he has steadily advanced 
in the business world, and his enterprising efforts, strong determination and 
honorable methods have brought to him creditable and gratifying success. 

.MARTIN WILCOX. 

Martin Wilcox, at the present time a farmer living on section 20. Twin 
Grove township, Jasper county, Missouri, was born in Ledyard, New London 
county, Connecticut, November 30. 1836, of English and German lineage, 
his paternal great-grandfather, Robert Wilcox, being a native of England, 
while his maternal great-grandfather, William Reed, was of German extrac- 
tion and a farmer by occupation. His grandfather, Robert Wilcox, was a 
native of Rhode Island. Robert Wilcox, Jr., the father of our subject, was 
also a native of New London county, Connecticut, was a farmer, and mar- 
ried Miss Mary A. Reecl. a native of the same county. They became the 
parents of eleven children, of which our subject was the eighth in order of 
birth, and there were seven sons in succession. Eight of those children grew 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 485 

to years of maturity. The father died when eighty-six years of age, and the 
mother at the age o£ seventy-six. 

Martin Wilcox, the subject of this record, was reared in his native county 
until sixteen years of age, when he left his home to look out for himself. 
Going to Alexander county, Illinois, he engaged in the logging and lumber 
business for six years. He then returned to> his former home, and remained 
there about a year, when he returned to Stark county, Illinois, from which 
place he enlisted in Company B, Thirty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, 
on the 19th of August, 1861, for three years or during the war. He served 
until May 15, 1866, almost five years. He was on duty all that time, yet 
never received a wound. At no time was he reprimanded or placed under 
arrest, but was promoted to corporal and then to> sergeant, and was honora- 
bly discharged at Houston, Texas, May 15, 1866. John C. Black was the 
colonel of his regiment, with Colonel White also^ in command, and was a 
member of Herron's division. He was with General Grant at the capture 
of Vicksburg, was sent down the river to> join General Banks at Port Hudson, 
and took part in the campaign at New Orleans, Texas, and the Rio' Grande, 
and then re-enlisted at Brownsville, Texas, on the 10th of February, 1864, 
as a veteran volunteer in the same regiment. He served in the Red River 
campaign under General Banks, and was in the Mobile expedition under 
General Steele. 

After the close of the war Mr. Wilcox went to Girard, Erie county, 
Pennsylvania, in October, 1866, where he engaged in the lumber and brick 
business, remaining there until February, 1880, when he came west, locating 
first in Oswego, Labette county, Kansas, buying a farm near there and culti- 
vating it until 1883, when he sold out and went to' Jasper county, Missouri. 
He bought a home in Lehigh, that county, and engaged in the carpenter busi- 
ness in the mines for three years. Later he removed to- Bellville, and thence 
to Joplin, carrying on the same business in both places through a period of 
eight years. He engaged in mining one year, and then bought the farm' 
upon which he now lives, the place consisting of eighty acres and thirty-five 
acres on the river. He does general farming - , keeps his fields under a high 
state of cultivation, the fences, barns and other outbuildings in good order, 
and the neat appearance o<f the entire farm indicates the care and supervision 
of an energetic, enterprising and progressive farmer of good practical sense 
and good judgment. Such qualities insure him success in his farming opera- 
tions and he is considered one of the substantial men of the county. 

Mr. W'ilcox has been three times married, his first union being with 



486 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Miss Libby Bellamy, the marriage taking place in Erie county, Pennsylvania, 
in February, 1869. She became the mother of one son, Roma, who is at the 1 
present time an engineer of Joplin. After her death he again married in 
Erie county, Pennsylvania, in February, 1876, Miss Libbie Stephenson becom- 
ing his wife. She bore her husband one daughter, Zoe, who became the wife 
of Fred Carpenter, of Erie county, Pennsylvania. After her mother's death 
her father married his present wife at Lehigh, Missouri, in December, 1884. 
She bore the maiden name of Mollie Atkeson. By their union there have; 
been born two sons and two daughters, namely : Ida, Corbett, Martina and 
Kinley. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Wilcox is a stanch Republican, and does 
everything in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his 
party. He was at one time a mayor of the village of Lehigh, Missouri, and 
of Montana, Kansas, and in the latter state was also a city clerk and active in 
the Grand Army circles. He was formerly a member of the Knights of 
Honor, but has withdrawn his membership. In his religious views Mr. Wil- 
cox is an agnostic, believing that a man has the right to act according to the 
dictates of his own conscience. While conservative in his views, he believes 
that every man has a right to express those views at all times and under all' 
•conditions without fear or favor, and that any religious belief that cannot 
stand the searchlight of modern science must fall by the wayside. 

J J. M. PICKERELL. 

If the man who is a pioneer deserves credit for paving the way to civili- 
zation, the man who is himself a pioneer and a son of a pioneer is entintled to a 
double measure of distinction. J. M. Pickerell, an old settler in Jasper county, 
Missouri, whose residence is at Medoc, Jasper township, was born in Calloway 
county, Kentucky, November 7, 1835, a son of James and Nancy (Ballard) 
Pickerell. His father, who was born in Overland county, Tennessee, and was a 
farmer by occupation, moved to Union county, Illinois, in 1836. From there 
he went to Ripley county, Missouri, thence to> Bourbon county, Kansas, and 
afterward to Jasper county, Missouri, where he died at about the age of 
sixty. He married Nancy Ballard, who was born in Calloway county, Ken- 
tucky, and in her early life lived there and in Tennessee. She died in Jasper 
•county, Missouri, when she was about fifty-six years old. James and Nancy 
(Ballard) Pickerell had six children, of whom the subject of this sketch was 
the eldest and of whom five grew to manhood and womanhood. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 4S7 

Our subject was not quite a year old when his parents moved from Ken- 
tucky to Union county, Illinois, where he was reared and where he received 
a fair education in the common schools. He was only a small boy when he 
began to' plow in the Illinois cornfields, and he helped his father until he was 
twenty-one years of age. He accompanied his father's family to Kansas, 
where in 1857 ^ ie married Mary A. Ingram, a native of Indiana, who had 
been reared in Edgar county, Illinois. 

After his marriage Mr. Pickerell began farming in Bourbon count}-, 
Kansas. In 1859 he came to Jasper county, Missouri, and located on Spring 
River, west of Smithfield, where he cultivated the Inglehart farm until 1861, 
when he returned to Kansas and lived in Allen county until after the close 
of the war. He then went back to Jasper county, Missouri, and farmed again, 
near Smithfield, on land which he purchased and improved, and after four 
years sold to Daniel Hunt. He then bought eighty acres of land near Prottal 
Grove, in Twin Grove township, where he lived fourteen years, when he sold 
the property to William Daugherty, and bought one hundred acres of land 
on the Base-line road in Jasper township, where he remained about four years.. 
From there he removed to his present farm at Medoc. 

Mr. and Mrs. Pickerell have four sons and two daughters: Logan is a 
farmer in Jasper township ; Gouvine is a miller near Webb City ; Poney lives 
in Kansas ; John is serving his country as a soldier in the Philippine islands ; 
Anna is the wife of Frank Hardenbrook, o<f Medoc; and Ella is the youngest. 
Mrs. Pickerell died in October, 1898. Mr. Pickerell is a Democrat and takes 
an active and conscientious interest in local politics. 



4 



JESSE RICHARDSON, 



For many years the agricultural interests of Jasper county have found 
a worthy representative in Jesse Richardson, who owns an attractive and 
valuable farm on section 6, range 32, Duval township, and his efforts in the 
line of his chosen vocation have been crowned with a high and well-merited 
degree of success. He was born in Franklin county, Illinois, September 19. 
1852. His paternal grandfather, Alexander Richardson, was a native of 
the Old Dominion, and after removing to Illinois he located in Franklin 
county, where he followed agricultural pursuits. David Richardson, the 
father of our subject, was a native of Tennessee, but when a young man re- 
moved with his parents to Illinois, where he was engaged in blacksmithing 
and farming. In 1867 ne took up his residence in Jasper county, Missouri, 



488 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

locating near Joplin, and in 1881 he removed to Duval township, where he 
passed away in April, 1899, at the age of seventy-two years. He was mar- 
ried to Rachel George, also a native of Tennessee. When a child she removed 
with a half-sister to Illinois. Her parents died during her infancy, and she 
had but one brother, who was at one time governor of Georgia, and he was 
supposed to have been killed while on his way to> Illinois. 

Jesse Richardson, the second son and fourth child in his parents' family, 
was about twelve years of age when he accompanied his parents on their re- 
moval to Kansas, and in 1867 he came with the family to Jasper county, 
Missouri, remaining under the parental roof until his marriage. He then 
located three miles north of Joplin, where he followed farming for two years, 
and during the following year was engaged in the same occupation in Duval 
township. He then established a. store at Breeze, Jasper county, where he 
followed merchandising for fourteen years, and during that entire time also 
filled the office of postmaster. His career as a merchant was one of contin- 
ued prosperity, but in 1898 he disposed of his mercantile interests and erected 
his present residence, and is extensively engaged in farming. His fields, 
being under a fine state of cultivation, annually yield to the owner a handsome 
financial return. 

In Jasper county, Missouri, in 1878, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. 
Richardson and Miss Tena Irelan, and in 1896 he was again married, choos- 
ing for his second wife Anna Crouse. Mr. Richardson holds membership 
relations with the Baptist church. He exercises his right of franchise in sup- 
port of the men and measures of the Democratic party, but has never been an 
aspirant for political honors, his many and varied duties claiming his undi- 
vided attention. 

F. LUTHER BURCH. 

One of the well-known residents of Burch City, Jackson township, Jas- 
per county, is F. Luther Burch, who was born in Hardy county, Virginia, 
January 13, 1858, and is a brother of John W. Burch, a prominent resident 
of Carthage, Missouri. He was the youngest member of a family of five chil- 
dren, and was about one and one-half years old when his parents removed to 
Piatt county, Illinois. Until 1869 that was his home, but in that year his par- 
ents came to- Jasper county. Here he was given better educational oppor- 
tunities, and he finished an academic course in Morrisville, Polk county, Mis- 
souri. Then he was engaged as deputy recorder, remaining in that office 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 489 

for about five years under his brother, John \Y. Burch and Mr. Newal. Then 
Mr. Burch came to his present residence and has engaged in mining and farm- 
ing, owning a property consisting of forty acres. He has an interest in four 
good mines in this locality. 

In 1881 Mr. Burch was married to Miss Ella Burkholder, who was a 
native of Carthage, and to them have been born four children, namely : Blanch, 
Guy, Ernest and Ethel. In politics Mr. Burch has always been a Democrat, 
and has filled many of the local offices, including those of justice of the peace 
and constable. Socially he is connected with the Select Knights, of Carthage. 
For man}- years he has been a leading member of the Methodist church. South, 
and is one of its most valued attendants. Mr. Burch has witnessed many 
changes in Jasper county during the years he has resided here, and has done 
his part in the growth and development to be seen on every hand. 



1 



J. F. BAKER. 



One of the prominent early settlers and representative agriculturists of 
Jasper county is J. F. Baker, who owns a valuable and well-improved farm 
of two hundred and forty acres on section 19, Duval township. He was born 
in Bourbon county, Kentucky, on the 25th oi October, 1S25, a son of Thomas 
and Sarah (Delay) Baker, natives also> of Kentucky. The father was a stone- 
mason by occupation, and in 1830 the family removed to' Illinois, locating on 
a farm in Sangamon county. The mother was called to the home beyond 
in 1832, but the father survived until eighty-four years of age, passing away 
in Barton county, Missouri, to> which place he removed in 1866. They were 
the parents of five children. After the mother's death the father was twice 
married, and by the second union he had one child. There were no children 
by the third marriage. 

J. F. Baker, the third in order of birth of his parents' five children, was 
about five years of age when he was taken by his parents to Sangamon county, 
Illinois, and was there reared and educated. After reaching years of maturity 
he entered upon his business career as a farmer, following that occupation 
there until coming - to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1867. On his arrival here 
he located on the farm which he still owns, but the land was then new and 
unimproved. As the years have passed he has been very successful in his 
farming operations, has placed his fields under a high state of cultivation, 
and has made his one of the valuable farming properties of the locality. The 
place comprises two hundred and forty acres of valuable land. In 1900 his 



49o BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

fine new barn was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, together 
with about six hundred bushels of corn and some oats. Although his loss 
was a heavy one, he immediately set to work to retrieve his possessions, and 
throughout his entire career, in the same resolute manner, he has overcome 
the obstacles and difficulties which beset his path. 

In Logan county, Illinois, in 1848, was celebrated the marriage of Mr.. 
Baker and Rebecca Patterson, a native of Madison county, Ohio'. Her 
father, James Patterson, was a native of Ohio, but became one oi the early 
settlers oi Logan county, Illinois, where he was extensively engaged in farm- 
ing operations. His death occurred in Iowa, The mother of Mrs. Baker 
was in her maidenhood Sarah Walton, and was a native of New York. She 
died when her daughter Rebecca was only a year and a half old, leaving 
twins. They were the parents of six children, four sons and two 
daughters, and Mrs. Baker was the fourth child in order of birth. The union 
ot Mr. and Mrs. Baker has been blessed with eight children: Clara Ann, 
wife of J. W. Baker, whose sketch will be found on another page of this 
volume; Jane, the wife of Thomas Phillips, of Kingfisher, Oklahoma; Eliza,, 
the wife oi William Winsted, of Pittsburg, Kansas ; Ollie, the wife of Elias 
Davidson, a resident of California; and the four who died in childhood.. 
In his political affiliations Mr. Baker is a stanch supporter of Republicanism, 
and is an active worker in the ranks of his party. As one of the honored 
pioneer residents of Jasper county he has nobly borne his part in the work of 
improvement and development here, and his efforts have redounded to the 
credit and benefit of this favored section oi Missouri. 

V J. T. OSBORN.. 

Among the retired agriculturists of Jasper county is J. T. Osborn, who 
resides on his fine farm of eighty acres in Mineral township. He is one of 
the oldest settlers in the county and one of its most highly esteemed citizens. 
Mr. Osborn conies of old and honorable ancestry. 

Bereaved of both parents while still a lad, our subject was reared by his 
step-father, Mr. Prigmore, on a farm in Duval township, and was sent to> the 
little log school-house in Preston township, and there conquered the rudi- 
ments of an education, while much reading and association with the world 
have taught him more than he was able to acquire in his youth. 

In April, 1882, in Duval township, was celebrated the marriage oi Mr. 
Osborn to Emma Martin, who was born in Harrison county, Missouri, and! 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 49* 

to this union two children have been born, namely : Sophia, who is the wife 
of Neary Estus, of Mineral Point ; and Carson, who is at home. In his politi- 
cal life Mr. Osborn has always been an active Republican and much inter- 
ested in the success of his party. He has lived to see wonderful changes in 
Jasper county, has done his part in its development, and is one of the most 
highly respected among the band of old settlers which every year grows less. 
Mr. Osborn is a typical pioneer, honest, straightforward and reliable, a fit 
representative of the class which has made of this section of the great state 
of Missouri one of the most flourishing localities in which to find a home. 

>/ ALEXANDER GILLFILLAN. 

One of the leading citizens of Jasper county who- is well and widely 
known is Alexander Gillfillan. justice of the peace and notary public in Webb 
City. He was born in Ross county, Ohio, November 12, 1837. a son of 
Alexander and Elizabeth (Monroe) Gillfillan. The father of our subject was 
a son of Thomas Gillfillan, who was born in County Berry, Ireland, and after 
spending some years in Pennsylvania, where he first settled, went to Ross 
county, Ohio, e^bout 1806. Alexander Gillfillan, who was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, went with his father to Ohio, and in 181 2 settled at Paint Creek, Ross 
county, where he remained through a long and useful career. He became 
prominently identified with all of the public interests of that count}', served 
for thirty years as justice of the peace, and after the Civil war was a very 
active member of the Republican party, prior to that having been a Whig". 
He was a farmer by occupation, and was a consistent member of the Methodist 
church. The mother of our subject was Elizabeth Monroe, who was born 
in Pennsylvania and removed to Ohio* when young. Her death occurred at 
the age of forty-five years. Mr. Gillfillan was married a second time, when 
Mary Cammlie became his wife. To the first marriage were born five sons 
and five daughters, all of them reaching maturity. The first one of the family 
to pass from this life had reached the age of forty-seven years. 

Alexander Gillfillan, the youngest in the family, was but a year and a 
half old when he was deprived of his mother's care. As he grew older he 
was sent to the district school, — a log cabin with puncheon floor and slabs for 
seats, — and there learned the elementary branches which were considered all 
that could be made use of on a farm. Schools as well as ideas have changed 
since then. Our subject remained at home assisting his father until his mar- 
riage, in 1859, to Miss Sarah R. McClandish. She was born, reared and 

26 



492 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

educated in Ross county, Ohio, and was a daughter of John and Maria (Mc- 
Dold) McClandish. Mrs. Gillfillan died in 1897, leaving- the following chil- 
dren: Lizzie, who married G. D. Purcell, of Carthage; Ellen M., who mar- 
ried L. P. Hope, of Alba. Jasper county, Missouri; Anna, who married S. S. 
Purcell, of Alba; Rose E., who married H. J. Hadley, of Jasper county; and 
Martin L., living in the west. 

Following' his marriage our subject located in Ohio 1 , but in the spring 
of 1866 removed to Holt county, Missouri, and thence came to Jasper county 
in 1872, locating near Alba. His intention was to engage in mining, and as 
he was very successful in this line, he continued that pursuit until 1898. At 
that date he was elected justice of the peace O'f Mineral Point township, and 
is now also' a notary public. Since 1888 he has been connected with the 
Democratic party, and is a member of the county committee and one of the 
influential men of this section. Mr. Gillfillan rents his farming lands, as 
his official duties occupy his time. Since 1859 he has been connected with the 
Masonic order, and is well known throughout the county. He has always 
taken a deep interest in the development of the resources of this part of the 
state and is one of the representative men. 

JOHN M. WEEKS. 

There are living in Jasper county, Missouri, a number of ex-county 
officials who are held in high esteem by their fellow citizens, not only on ac- 
count of their worthy business records, but because of the enviable reputa- 
tion they have won as custodians of important public trusts. Of this class 
is John M. Weeks, ex-county treasurer of Jasper county, who is a well-known 
citizen of Carthage. 

John M. Weeks was born in Georgetown, Vermilion county, Illinois, 
July 25. 1841, a son of Samuel and Sarah Jane (Price) Weeks. His father 
was born on the island of Nantucket in 1823. After living for a time in 
Illinois he removed to Missouri, and now lives at Carthage. His mother 
was a native of Vermilion county, Illinois, and was born in 1832, a daughter 
•of Williamson Price, a native of Tennessee, who was descended from Vir- 
ginian ancestors and who- married Mary Dillon, also a native of Tennessee. 
James Weeks, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was of English ex- 
traction. 

John M. Weeks gained his primary education in the public schools of 
Illinois, and was for two years a student at Vermilion Academy. He spent 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 493 

his early life as a member of his father's household, and eventually became an 
agriculturist at Ridge Farm, Illinois. He married Miss Ene Mills, of Ver- 
milion county, Illinois, who died leaving three children. Their son Charles 
lives at Springfield, Missouri; their son Frank in Oklahoma Territory; and 
their daughter Lillian is a member of her father's household. Mr. Weeks 
present wife was Miss S. E. Rees, a native of Vermillion county, Illinois, who 
had become a resident of Carthage. They have three children, — Alta, Homer 
and Grace. 

In October, 1867, Mr. Weeks located in Martin township, Jasper county, 
Missouri, not far from Carthage, on a fine farm of one hundred and forty 
acres. There he remained until 1895, when he removed to Carthage, where 
for two years he represented the firm of Parler, Orendoff & Conlon, manufac- 
turers of improved farm machinery. In the fall of 1896 he was elected treas- 
urer of Jasper county. He entered upon the duties of that office in Janu- 
ary, 1897, and in 1898 was re-elected to the same office for another term of 
two years. In 1886 he was elected presiding judge of the county court of 
Jasper county and served in that capacity for four years. In 1890 he was 
elected on the Republican ticket to represent the eastern district of Jasper 
county in the state legislature, and in 1892 he was a candidate for the office 
of state auditor, but was defeated by James H. Seibert, Democrat. He was 
active in the political campaign of 1896. 

BERRY FRANKLIN MAYS. 

Among the best known of the younger generation of mining men of 
Jasper county, the subject of this brief notice is prominent, and his career is 
one which demonstrates the value of American push and perseverance in the 
practical affairs of life. Mr. Mays was born in eastern Tennessee August 
30, 1875, and remained there, attending school when opportunity offered, 
until he was twelve years old, when he went to Cherokee county, Kansas, 
where, in 1888, at the age of about thirteen years, his identification with the 
sludge business began. In 1898 he went to Jasper county, Missouri, where, 
in association with his father and R. E. Daniels, he organized the Oronogo 
Sludge Company, which organization lasted two years, when, in 1900, in 
company with R. D. Owen and Willis M. Watson, he organized the Center 
Valley Sludge Company, in the management of which he is achieving suc- 
cess. On the 30th of August, 1901, he became sole proprietor. 

In 1896 Mr. Mays married Laura Bargar, and they have three children: 



494 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNT!'. 

George C, .Foster and John. He is a member of the Independent Order o£ 
Odd Fellows, of the Knights of Pythias and of the Modern Woodmen, and 
is as popular in social as in business circles. Ffe owns a fine farm of eighty 
acres, which he rents advantageously, and his home at Oronogo is comforta- 
ble and attractive. He is rapidly coming to the front among the younger 
business men of the county, and his public spirit makes him a valuable citi- 
zen, while his good business judgment causes his fellow townsmen to seek 
his advice upon many important matters. 

Mrs. ELIZA A. JAMESON. 

Mrs. Eliza A. Jameson, who is the owner of a valuable farming property 
in Twin Grove township and is one of the estimable ladies of Jasper county,, 
was born within the borders of this county April 27, 1848, her parents being- 
John M. and Julia (DeGraffenried) Vivion. Her paternal grandfather,. 
Thacker Vivion, was a native of Kentucky, and became one of the pioneer 
settlers of Jasper county, Missouri. He became identified with milling inter- 
ests, building the first mill at Sarcoxie. Some years afterward he removed 
to Twin Grove: township, locating in the midst of the forest, where he secured 
a claim and began the development of a farm. Subsequently he removed to 
Texas, and his son John entered land from the government when it was 
placed upon the market. 

John Vivion, the father of Mrs. Jameson, was born in Boone county, 
Missouri, in 18.18, and when about twenty years of age removed to Jasper 
county, locating on Spring river, in Twin Grove township, where he was 
classed among the frontier settlers, for the work of improvement and civiliza- 
tion had scarcely been begun in the southwestern portion of the state. For 
the land he entered he paid a dollar and a quarter per acre. With character- 
istic energy he began transforming the wild tract into richly cultivated fields, 
and in course of time evolved a fine farm, upon which he spent his remaining 
days. His death was caused by accident, January 20, 1856, while he was 
engaged in hauling timbers which were to be used in the building of a church 
that now stands near Joplin. 

John Vivion was united in marriage to Miss Julia DeGraffenried, who^ 
was born in Kentucky September 30, 1822, and came to Jasper county when 
about fifteen years of age. Here on the nth of February, 1841, she gave her 
hand in marriage to> John Vivion, and they resided at what is now called 
Lehigh Mills. Her father was John DeGraffenried, a native of Kentucky 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 495 

and one of the pioneer settlers of Jasper county, Missouri. Mrs. Virion is 
still living and makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Jameson. By her 
marriage she became the mother of six children, namely: Marion M., who 

has a family of eight children; Calvin, who was killed in the Civil war; Alary, 
deceased; Eliza, now Mrs. Jameson; Sarah, deceased; and one who died in 
in fane v. 

Airs. Jameson was the second daughter and fourth child of the family. 
She spent her early girlhood days in her parents' home and in the schools of 
Jasper county pursued her education. She was a maiden of fourteen sum- 
mers when with her parents she went to Texas, where she grew to woman- 
hood and gave her hand in marriage to John F. Jameson. He was born in 
Clay county, Missouri, and there was reared and educated. Mr. and Mrs. 
Jameson began their domestic life in the Lone Star state, where they remained 
for eight years and then returned to Missouri, settling in Jasper county, 
where Mr. Jameson secured a farm in Twin Grove township. He at once 
began its further development and improvement, and continued the cultiva- 
tion of the fields until 1872. when he was called to his final rest, being only 
thirty-tw< t years of age at the time of his death. Three children had been born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Jameson, but one died in infancy, and William died at the 
age of nine years. The surviving daughter is Mary E., now the wife of 
Harry Lytle. and who by a former marriage had two children, John and Ber- 
tha Edmondson. By a second marriage Mrs. Jameson has a son, Albert C. 
Webb. Since the death of Air. Jameson she has resided upon the farm 
where she still makes her home, and there her mother lives with her. She 
has ably managed her property interests, her business ability bringing to her 
creditable and desirable success, and she and her mother are "numbered among 
the highly esteemed ladies of the community. 



WILLIAM KLINE. 

Among the men who are rapidly coining to the front in connection with 
mining interests in Jasper county none is more highly regarded as a business 
man or as a citizen than William Kline, superintendent of the Morning Star 
mines, at Oronogo. He was born at Platte City, Platte countv, Missouri, 
December 15, 1868, a son of Henry Kline, a native of Des Moines, Iowa! 
He was a printer and published several different newspapers in various states 
until his death at Paris, Texas, at the age of fifty-eight years. Air. Kline's 



436 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

mother, who was Amelia Downing, a native of Lawrence, Kansas, died at 
the age of twenty-five years. 

William Kline, who was the second son of his parents, was, at the age 
of eight, taken into the family of M. F. Downing. He was reared and edu- 
cated in Joplin, Missouri, and twelve years ago, about the time he attained 
his majority, he turned his attention to mining. He worked in the Joplin 
district until 1878, when he came to Oronogo. For about six months he 
was ground boss of different mines under Charles Reed. He became super- 
intendent of the Morning Star mines December 1, 1900. He has given his 
entire attention during the years of his active life to mining and is achieving 
well merited success. In politics he is a Republican. 

WILLIS M. WATSON. 

The business of mining is one which requires long experience and thor- 
ough study, and a superintendent of one of the leading mines in a mining 
country must also possess excellent judgment and considerable executive 
ability. This combination is found in Willis M. Watson, a practical and 
thoroughly educated miner, who is superintendent of the Texas Star mine, 
in Oronogo, Jasper county, having held that responsible position for the past 
two years. Mr. Watson was born in Mitchell county, Kansas, October 16, 
1867, a son of John J. and Elizabeth (Hanson) Watson, the former of whom 
was a native of Indiana, but was reared in Shelby county, Illinois, where his 
parents had moved while he was still small. His wife was also born in Shelby 
county, Illinois, and was the mother of a family of six children, in which our 
subject was the eldest son. 

Willis M. Watson was reared in Illinois and Missouri, his parents hav- 
ing moved to Jasper county when he was twelve years old. They located in 
Bellville, where the father engaged in mining and taught his son the first 
principles of the business. When our subject had reached the age of four- 
teen he performed the duties of engineer, and through the years which fol- 
lowed he became acquainted with every detail of the life, both beneath and 
above the ground. A man who has this experience is well fitted to manage 
the operations of others, and a trial of Mr. Watson's executive ability was 
made while he was still a young man. For three years he was employed by 
the Center Valley Mining Company to look after all of the complicated mining 
machinery, and for one year he was with George Cooley, in which year he was 
Mr. Coolev's assistant in the erection of the second steam plant erected for 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 497 

mining purposes in this locality. On the 9th of August, 1899, Mr. Watson 
assumed the duties of superintendent of the Texas Star mine, of Oronogo, 
and for the past two years has given satisfaction to all concerned. His knowl- 
edge of mining is so thorough that the owners of the mine have perfect con- 
fidence in his management. 

Mr. Watson was married on August 30, 1889, to Miss Jessie Hand, 
who was born in Indiana. They have become the parents of five children, 
named Bessie, Howard, Harman, Lillie and Trevia. Mr. Watson is a well- 
known and popular member of the Knights of Pythias, of Oronogo, and is 
one of the stanch Republicans of this neighborhood, exerting considerable 
influence through the city in political matters. 

FRANK E. CHARLSON. 

Although now one of the most substantial and well located farmers ot 
Jasper county, pursuing a quiet agricultural life, surrounded by every com- 
fort and convenience that modern ingenuity has perfected, Frank E. Charlson 
has lived a life which for many years was one of change and rare experience. 
His birth occurred in Sweden, June 26, 1844, and he was reared in his native 
country, where he was afforded a good common-school education. At the 
age of twenty-one he engaged in carpentering, but the next year was enabled 
to borrow enough money to bring him to America, where he arrived in 1S66. 
One year was spent in Knox county, Illinois, and then he came to Jasper 
county, Missouri, reaching here in 1867. After six months of work on a 
farm he began to work at the carpenter trade with John Carlson, a fellow 
countryman, and then went to Joplin, where the great mining "boom" had 
made building a necessity. Mr. Charlson was a skilled workman, and for 
the succeeding five years he was busily engaged in building operations, and 
can still recall the first houses erected in that city. Times and people have 
changed, the face of nature is different, but the work of his hands still stand. 
testifying to his ability. 

Mr. Charlson then came to Twin Grove township and located on a farm 
which he had bought when he first came into the county. Immediately, with 
characteristic industry, he began the clearing and cultivating of this tract. 
at the same time continuing to work at his trade. Selling his eighty acres, 
he then bought one hundred and twenty acres, which he later sold and bought 
the farm on section 30. Twin Grove township, on which he now lives. This 
consists of two hundred acres, and is one of the finest farms in the county. 



498 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Mr. Charlson has spared neither time nor labor in its cultivation and improve- 
ment, and he also owns other property situated at Carl Junction. This has 
all been accumulated by his own efforts, and in every way he is a self-made 
man. 

The marriage of Mr. Charlson was celebrated in 1884, Miss Gusse 
Alford becoming his wife. She was also- born in Sweden and came to 
America when she was eleven years old. One daughter, Alice, was born of 
this marriage, but her little life closed at the age of three years. Both Mr. 
and Mrs, Charlson are among the highly esteemed residents of Jasper county. 

4 R. H. CRAIN. 

R. H. Crain, a farmer and ex-county collector, resides on section 20, 
Twin Grove township, Jasper county. Missouri, but Illinois is his native state, 
having been born there, in Washington county, on the 20th of August, 1844. 
He is of English descent, as there were three of the name who came over in 
the Mayflower from England to America, one of them locating in the east, 
one in the south, and it is not known where the third located. Rev. John 
Crain. the father of our subject, was a native of Virginia, but was reared 
and married in Tennessee. He was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal 
church.- and preached about forty years for that denomination. After his 
marriage he left Tennessee and went to southeastern Missouri, thence going 
to Washington county, Illinois, and from there to Kansas, where he died at 
the age of seventy-six years. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary 
Barklay, was of English descent and was born in Tennessee, where she was 
educated and reared to womanhood. They became the parents of twelve chil- 
dren, of which number four sons and four daughters grew to mature years. 
The mother of this family lived to be about seventy-four years of age. 

R. H. Crain, the tenth child of his parents, was reared and educated 
in his native county, attending the common schools near his home and assist- 
ing his father in the work of the farm until he became of age. He then mar- 
ried and located upon a farm in Washington county, Illinois, where he re- 
mained until he went to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1874, locating' three miles 
west of Oronogo, where he improved a farm of one hundred and twenty acres 
upon the broad prairie and remained there until 1880, when he sold out and 
bought the place where he now resides. It consisted of a tract of three hun- 
dred and twenty-six acres of unimproved prairie in Jasper county. This he 
divided into two farms, which he placed under a high state of cultivation, 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 499 

and they are now among the most valuable and best improved farms of the 
county. 

Mr. Crain chose for his companion and helpmeet on the journey of life 
Miss Sarah Rountree, a native of Washington county, Illinois, where she was 
reared and educated. She is a lady of refinement and many excellent traits 
of character, being a devoted wife and mother. The marriage of this worthy 
couple has been blessed with ten children, namely : Frank P., Harry T., Addie, 
Laura, Lyman, Carrie, Delia, Alice, and Earl and Anna, twins. 

Mr. Crain is a free-silver Democrat, and was elected to the position of 
county collector in 1890, and re-elected in 1892, serving four years, during 
two years of which time he collected the taxes for the new court-house, which 
cost a hundred thousand dollars. He has held other local offices, and' is also 
a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity. At one time he lived at 
Carthage, Missouri. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
taking an active part in all of its work, and has held office in the same. 

y 

WILLIAM M. SENTER. 

The popular editor and proprietor of the Carl Junction Democrat is 
William Marshall Senter, who was born in. Jasper county, Missouri, July 4. 
1872. His paternal grandfather, Aaron Senter, was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania and settled in West Virginia at an early day. His son, G. M. Senter, 
the father of our subject, was there born and reared to manhood, and in i860,' 
when about eighteen years of age, he removed to Newton county, Missouri' 
where he became a mine owner and operator, in which occupation he was 
•engaged until his death, in 1890, being then forty-eight years of age. He 
married Miss Emily Hallsey, a native of Newton county, Missouri, who had 
resided in Joplin, this state, for twenty-two years. Her father, William 
Hallsey, was a native of Pennsylvania, but came to Newton county in 1840, 
being one of the first settlers of the county. His daughter Emily" was mar- 
Tied to Mr. Senter at Granby, Missouri, in 1864, and their union was blessed 
with the following named children: Laura, deceased; William Marshall; 
one who died in infancy; Ollie M., wife of Charles Roadanne ; and Teddy C 
The father of this family was a member of the Ancient Order of United Work- 
men and was a very worthy man. 

William Marshall Senter, whose name introduces this review, is the old- 
est son and second child of his parents, and spent the days of his childhood 
■and youth in Joplin, Missouri, where he was educated in the public schools. 



500 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

He entered upon his business career at the early age of twelve years by going" 
into a printing office. Later he spent about one year as an employe on an 
electric railroad line, also about one year with his father in the mines. At 
the age of nineteen he took up the printing" business with the Joplin Daily 
News, now the News Herald, remaining with the company about five years,, 
learning the trade, which he has since followed. He worked some time for 
John Guy and was manager o<f the city circulation of the Herald, now the 
News Herald, for two years, and then, August 7, 1899, ne established the 
paper in East Joplin, known as the Friday Advertiser. On the 1st of De- 
cember of the same year he established the Carl Junction Democrat, and 
since that time he has been located in the above named place. 

The year 1896 witnessed the celebration of the marriage of Air. Senter 
and Miss Lula Maud Reynolds, the daughter of M. B. and Nellie ( Ashford) 
Reynolds. She was born in Kansas and reared at Jerico Springs, Missouri, 
from the age of about six years. Their union has been blessed with one son,. 
Otho W. Mr. Senter is a member of Carl Junction Lodge, A. O. U. W., 
and politically he is a Democrat, conducting his paper in the interests of that 
party. The paper has a wide circulation, being one of the leading journals 
of the county and is a profitable source of income to its owner, who is also 
creditably filling the office of city clerk at Carl Junction, where he makes 
his home. 






WILLIAM A. MOYER. 



William A. Mover, one of the foremost and representative citizens of 
Jasper county, and a man that enters into the spirit of anything that is for the 
benefit of his locality and its people, was born in Clinton county, Pennsyl- 
vania, on the 20th of May, 1855. His father, Daniel Mover, was also' a 
native of that county, and there he still resides, having reached the seventieth 
milestone on the journey of life. Lie is a carpenter by trade and has also fol- 
lowed agricultural pursuits. The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden 
name of Sarah Jane Ackerd, also claims Pennsylvania as the state of her na- 
tivity, and her death occurred when she was about forty-five years of age. 

William A. Mover, the eldest of his parents' nine children, spent his 
early life in his native place, and there learned and followed the carpenter's 
trade. In 1886 he came to Jasper county, Missouri,, locating in Union town- 
ship, where he farmed on rented land for a short time, and then took up his 
abode on his present farm. At the time of the purchase the land was wild 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 501 

and unimproved, but he has since cleared and placed under cultivation about 
sixty-five acres of his eighty-acre tract, has erected a good residence and barn 
and in many other ways has improved and beautified his place. His land is 
also rich in its mineral deposits, and in addition to his general farming opera- 
tions Mr. Moyer is also extensively engaged in prospecting. 

In Clinton county, Pennsylvania, occurred the marriage of our subject 
and Miss Katie Warntz, who was also a native o>f that county. Unto this 
union have been born seven children, — Charles A., Emma E., Sally A., Cora 
M., John E., Edna R. and Clarence. Mr. Moyer exercises his right of fran- 
chise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy. Although a 
member of no religious denomination, he attends the Evangelical church. 
He is well known throughout Jasper county, and no man in the locality is held 
in higher esteem or is regarded as having done more to elevate his fellow 
men than this high-minded and liberal gentleman. 



7 



JUDGE AMOS ATHERTON. 



Among the prominent citizens of Jasper county no one has done more 
or taken a deeper interest in its permanent development than Judge Amos 
Atherton. a substantial farmer, an able jurist and a highly respected resident. 
His fine farm is located on section 9, Twin Grove township, and consists of 
five hundred and sixty acres. 

The Judge was born in Butler county, Ohio, December 27, 1835, and 
he was the third son of William and Elizabeth (Miller) Atherton. The 
father was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 181 2, and removed with his 
parents to Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1822, ther family locating on land which 
is now the site of the city of Cincinnati, but in 1824 he removed to Butler 
county, Ohio, where he later married and lived until his death on a farm he 
bought in 1836. He passed away in 1855. The mother of our subject was 
a daughter of Richard Miller, who was of German descent, although a native 
of Connecticut, in which state his daughter Elizabeth was born in 18 14. 
She went to Ohio- with her parents, there married Air. Atherton, became 
the mother of five daughters and four sons, and died at the age of seventy- 
four years. Of her children one died at the age of five years and another 
passed away at the age of twelve, the family being now reduced to five 
members. 

Amos Atherton was reared in his native state and in his youth was given 
the best school opportunities afforded in the locality. Later he became a stu- 



502 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

dent in the Miami University, and after his return home remained on the 
old farm until he came to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1869, at which time 
he purchased his fine property and immediately began its improvement, in 
the meantime boarding in Galesburg while the buildings were being erected. 
The property which Judge Atherton owns consists of five hundred and sixty 
acres, and he is his own manager upon a large part of it, renting the rest. 
In 1873 Joplin was being laid out and there was but one house there. Dur- 
ing all these years he has watched with interest the wonderful changes which' 
have taken place, and has done much to promote the advancement of Jasper 
county. 

The first marriage of Judge Atherton was in 1873, the lady od: his choice 
being Mrs. Sarah J. Scruggs, the widow of Hay den Scruggs, and in her 
maidenhood Sarah J. Duncan. Four children were born of this marriage, 
two pairs of twins: Mabel and Elmer, born in 1874; and Merrill and May, 
born in 1876; the latter is the wife of John Mitchell, of Galesburg, Missouri. 
Elmer died at the age of three months. The mother died in 1879. The 
second marriage of Judge Atherton was to Amelia (Rodgers) Sawyer, the 
widow of Jonas Sawyer. 

Judge Atherton has been prominent in Republican political circles ever 
since he has resided in this section, and his election as presiding county judge, 
in 1 89 1, for a term of two years, was favorably regarded by the community 
on account of the confidence which he has always inspired. During his term 
•of office the court-house was erected, and much credit is due him for its 
speedy completion. In all of the various enterprises which have been pre- 
sented to the people for the advancement and improvement of this locality 
Judge Atherton has taken an active part, and is not only one of the best 
known but is also one of the most highly esteemed citizens of the county. 

JOHN VICKREY. 

One of. the leading business citizens of Oronogo>, Missouri, is John 
Vickrey, who was born in Madison county, Illinois, April 30, 1858. He was 
a son of Joshua and Mary B. (Allen) Vickrey, the former of whom was born 
in Madison county, Illinois, about 1800, and the latter was born in Logan 
county, Kentucky. After their marriage they located in Salem, Illinois, and 
became the parents of four children. 

John Vickrey was the eldest son of his parents, and was about four years 
old when the family removal was made to Centralia, Illinois, where he was 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 503 

reared and attended school. His father died when he was nine years old, 
and as he was the oldest of the children he soon began to work, 'obtaining 
employment in the railroad shops. Here he learned to be a brakeman, was 
promoted and became baggage-master, and finally conductor on the Illinois 
Central Railroad, and followed that life for about eight years. 

In 1883 Mr. Vickrey removed to Jasper county and immediately became 
interested in mining, being soon made superintendent of mines both in Joplin 
and at other points. Later he engaged in the grocery business at Galena, Kan- 
sas, where he continued for three years, but in 1900 he located in Oronogo, 
and since early in that year has conducted one of the best establishments in 
that line in this vicinity. 

Air. Vickrey was married, in 1882, to Miss Rosa Goldsbury, who was a 
native of Marion county, Illinois, where she was reared and educated, and was 
a schoolmate of the late presidential candidate, William J. Bryan. Although 
he is also an acquaintance of Mr. Vickrey, the latter is not of his political faith, 
having always been a stanch Republican. Socially Mr. Vickrev is well known 
and valued as a member of the order of Knights of Pythias, and Galena 
Lodge, No. 9, A. O. U. W. Formerly he was also connected with the Red 
Men. As an honest and enterprising man of business as well as excellent citi- 
zen, Mr. Vickrey has won the esteem and confidence of the community in 
which he lives and is enjoying a large and constantly increasing volume of 
trade. 

SAMUEL C. MOORE. 

Samuel C. Moore, superintendent of the Diamond Jack mine, in which 
he also holds a controlling interest, occupies a leading place in the business . 
circles of Jasper county. His business career has been remarkably successful, 
but his wealth is the natural effect following cause. Energy, untiring labor' 
keen business discernment and unfailing honesty— these have made him a 
prosperous-man, and at all times his uprightness and reliability have won him 
the regard and confidence of those with whom he has been brought in contact. 

The Diamond Jack mine, of which Mr. Moore is part owner and superin- 
tendent, is owned by the Fort Wayne Mining Company, of Fort Wayne, In- 
diana. It contains a mill of a hundred and fifty tons and has a shaft of one 
hundred and seventy-five feet. It is very rich in its mineral deposits and an- 
nually yields a' handsome sum to its owners. Mr. Moore is also interested in 
a mine on the Leonard land, operated by the St. Louis Alining Company, of ' 



504 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

which he is also superintendent and part owner. In addition to his extensive 
mining operations Mr. Moore has also been largely interested in Indiana oil 
fields for the past fifteen years, and in this branch he has also* met with excel- 
lent success. He is thoroughly identified with the interests and upbuilding of 
the locality in which he makes his home, ever lending his aid and co-operation 
to all measures for the public good. 

ALEXANDER McCANN. 

Ireland has contributed its full share toward the development of the great 
state of Missouri, which is justly proud of the Irish element in its citizenship. 
Among the progressive farmers of Jasper township, Jasper county, not many 
are held in higher regard than Alexander McCann, who lives within the bor- 
ders of section 3 and is the owner of seven hundred acres of valuable farming 
land. This progressive farmer and public-spirited citizen was born in county 
Down, Ireland, and at the age of eleven years was brought to America by his 
parents. James and Jane (Pottor) McCann, who located at Indianapolis, Indi- 
ana. About two years later they removed to Macoupin county, Illinois, where 
they remained until 1869, when they located in Jasper county, Missouri, where 
Mr. McCann died in his eighty-seventh year, and Mrs. McCann at about the 
age of seventy-twoi years. This worthy couple were the parents o>f three chil- 
dren, one of whom died at the age oi three years, while another, Anna J., is 
the wife of William Dick, of Duval township, Jasper county. 

Alexander McCann was eleven years old when his parents came to Amer- 
ica. He lived with them in Indianapolis and in Illinois, and in 1871 he located 
in Duval township, whence eventually he removed to Jasper township. His 
career has been a very successful one and, as has been stated, his real-estate 
holding in Duval and Jasper townships aggregate seven hundred acres. He 
rents much of his land and devotes his home place to general farming and 
stock-raising. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and, tak- 
ing a deep interest in Sunday-school work, is superintendent of the Sunday- 
school connected with the organization with which he affiliates. Politically 
he is a Republican and has always been active in public affairs. While he has 
not been an office seeker he has been prevailed upon to accept some places of 
public responsibility and has ably filled the offices of road commissioner and 
justice of the peace. 

Mr. McCann married Agnes Orr, a native of Dumbartonshire, Scotland, 
in 1879. A lover o*f home and home interests, he holds close to> his heart the 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 505 

•welfare of his fellow townsmen, and all measures tending to enhance the pros- 
perity of Jasper township have always received his unqualified support. Lead- 
ing men of the township testify that his administration of the office of justice 
of the peace was in every way admirable, his decisions having been uniformly 
fair and honest, while his comprehensive knowledge of business enabled him 
to adjudicate equitably in all matters of dispute between his townsmen. His 
interest in good roads made him a model road commissioner, and as a citizen, 
a church member and a public official he has always acquitted himself admir- 
ably and won the respect of all who have known him. 

M. H. PATRICK. 

As a representative of the class of substantial citizens of a great common- 
wealth who have served faithfully and long in the enterprising west, we pre- 
sent the subject of this review, who is a native son of Missouri, and nobly 
has he performed his duty in establishing and maintaining the material inter- 
ests of his community. He was born in Jackson township, near the place 
where he now resides, March 5, 1847. His father, Wallise J. Patrick, was 
born in Tennessee, but came to Jasper county, Missouri, about 1838. He 
was here married in 1843 lo Martha Hickey, also a native of Tennessee. 
She was brought to Jasper county when eleven years of age, locating on the 
farm where our subject now makes his home. After their marriage Mr. and 
Mrs. Patrick located on a farm in this county, and the father also broke the 
land owned by Peter Hill, one of the early pioneers of the locality. He gave 
his political support to the Democracy, and for a number of years he ably 
filled the office of justice of the peace. The parents spent the remainder of 
their lives in this county, the mother dying in 1896, at the age of sixty-eight 
years, and the father reached the seventieth milestone on the journey of life. 
Their union was blessed with eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, 
nine of whom grew to years of maturity. 

M. H. Patrick, the second child and second son in order of birth in the 
above family, was reared in Jackson township, receiving his education in the 
log school-houses common at that early day, and in his youth he also assisted 
in clearing his father's farm. In 1862 he removed to Arkansas, where he 
remained until 1863, when he returned to Jasper county, remaining one year, 
when in 1864 he located in Cooper county, Missouri. While there he joined 
Price's army, October 9, 1864, took part in Price's raid in Missouri, and was 
discharged from the service on the 3d of June, 1865, at Corsicana, Texas. 



506 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF I AS PER COUNTY. 

He then returned to Cooper county, Missouri, and in the following year came 
to Jasper county. After his marriage he located on the farm which he still 
occupies, but he did not come into possession of the land until 1889, and he 
now owns a tract of forty acres of the finest land to be found in Jasper 
county. His farm is the old Hickey homestead and was the home of his 
father and grandfather. 

Mr. Patrick was married in Jasper county in 1873, Miss Mary Scott 
becoming his wife. She is a native of Tennessee, but was reared in Dade 
and Jasper counties, Missouri, and is a daughter of Allen and Juda Scott, 
early pioneers of Dade county. Ten children have been born unto this union, 
rive sons and five daughters, — Virgil L., Jestin E., John T., James R., Allen 
S., Izora M., Sarah A., Hodgen, Martha D. and Ruth M. All of the chil- 
dren were born in Jackson township and all are now living with the exception 
of two, Virgil L. and Izora. The Democracy receives Mr. Patrick's hearty 
co-operation and support, and for several years he was the choice of his party 
for the office of justice of the peace. He is a member of the Christian church, 
in which he served as an elder for many years, and in 1899 he became an 
ordained minister. He has done much local work in the church, and has 
proved himself to be a tireless and efficient laborer in the vineyard of the 
Master. He was formerly a member of the Masonic fraternity and o>f the 
Woodmen of the World. He is a leading and influential citizen o>f his locality 
and has the confidence and high regard of a large circle of friends. 



7 



DAVID T. SPRINGS. 



The subject of this sketch, who is one of the most prominent residents 
of Webb City, Missouri, and a leading mine owner and operator, was born in 
Lebanon, Tennessee, but was reared in Livingston county, Kentucky, where 
his father, AVilliam Springs, was a pioneer. His mother, Mary (Pugh) 
Springs, was also a native of Kentucky and during the Civil war two of our 
subject's half-brothers fought in the Federal and two in the Confederate army. 
His father lived out his days in Kentucky. 

When Mr. Springs was a young man he came to southeast Missouri and 
engaged in lead mining for an English company, which was operating there. 
He came to Jasper county in 1887, and since that time has been connected with 
the Center Creek Mining Company, acting for the past eleven years as its 
superintendent, and it may be worthy of remark that no' other mining superin- 
tendent in the district has held a similar position for so long a time. J. B. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 507 

Stewart is president and general manager of the company. Mr. Springs also 

Centred, TT r " ,e SPri " gS & McGrUdCT nii "- Whkh he ™ * 
n^, f , , Ce " tre Creek Mbing °^W has «* hundred and 

twenty acres of land and thirteen mills, besides two large pumping stations 
and the supervision of its mining operations keeps Mr. Springs busV 
tion U Vn 1 " e "" k ' nm ™ member rf the M ^o°ic order, and in political affilia- 

aIp, ° "' aS " ,an ' ieCl h ' FrankIin coullt >-. Missouri, to Mis, 

Anna Roberts a natne of that county, and has one son. Guv Springs of Webb 
Cty. who assists his father with his work and attends high school He 

SXn ^ ' E ' Se SPringS ' Wh ° gaAaM h " m ^ W *» City hS 

P. W. HENNESSY. 

P. W. Hennessy, one of the most successful mine operators and one of 
he pronuuen, and representative citizens of Jasper county has bl «° den 
of th.s locahty s.nce 1887. during which time he has been extensively enT^d 
» "™n.ng operat.ons. His efforts have been attended with a high and "Sn^ 
mg degree of success, and he is now recognized as one of the w d v ,' 
prom.nent operators in this part of the commonwealth, the result oTexcelto 
busmess a„d executive ability and close application to duty. He i "w 
gaged w.tb the Preston. St. Louis & Joplin Company, gating at Zn7s 

In h.s mmmg operations Mr. Hennessy is ably assisted by his sons all' 
ot whom are extensively engaged in that occupation. They are John Wil 
am and Thomas. The family maintain their residence in Joplin d, J 
enjoy the esteem and high regard of a large number of frieni'and ^S 

JOHN G. MERRILL. 
A .glance at the history of past centuries will indicate at once what would 
^ commercial life. A landed proprietor surrounded himself with 



508 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

his tenants and his serfs, who tilled his broad fields while he reaped the reward 
of their labors; but when the rich mineral resources o<f the world were placed 
tipi m the market industry found its way into new and broader fields. Minerals 
were used in the production of thousands of new articles of trade and in the 
productii n of hundreds of inventions, and the business of nations was revo- 
lutionized. When considering these facts we can in a measure determine the 
value to mankind of the mining interests. One who has been connected with 
the development of the rich mineral resources of the commonwealth is Mr. 
Merrill, formerly the superintendent and part owner of the Bessie M. mine, 
and who was also interested in various other mining properties. 

He is a native of the far-off state of Maine, and has been engaged in min- 
ing operations for the past twenty-two years, principally in Butte City, Mon- 
tana, and the Black Hills. After coming to Jasper county he developed and 
sold many valuable mines, and became interested in and served as superin- 
tendent of the Bessie M., located on the Levan ground at Chit wood, in which 
he has been interested since it was opened up in 1899. It contains a one-hun- 
dred-ton mill and a shaft of one hundred and sixty feet, and is principally 
owned by eastern parties. Mr. Merrill is also interested in the Trouble mine, 
an< tther rich and paying property. He is a gentleman of marked business and 
executive ability, of keen foresight and discrimination, one who forms his 
plans readily and is determined in their execution and is rarely mistaken in a 
matter of business policy. In the fall of 1901 he removed to< Bisbee, Arizona. 

. ( , JOHX FAIRFIELD. 

John Fairfield, a retired farmer oi Jasper county, Missouri, was born in 
Kennebec county, Maine, February 15, 1835. He was the son of John and 
Jane ( Murphy) Fairfield. The former, a native of Maine, was a blacksmith 
by trade and also' a sailor. He located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, about 1836, 
and there followed the blacksmith business until his death, in 1865, at the age 
of sixty-five years. The mother of our subject was also a native of Maine and 
died in Fort Wayne, at the age of sixty years. They had a family of eight 
children and all of them grew to maturity. In this family our subject occu- 
pied the sixth place in order of birth and was the third son. 

John Fairfield was probably about eight years old when he left the state 
of Maine. He attended the schools of Fort Wayne and began to learn the 
blacksmith and carriage-painting trades, but at the age of fourteen he enlisted 
in the merchant service as a drummer boy. After one year he returned to 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 509 

P'ort Wayne, and in 1864 enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Fifty- 
second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was promoted to be drum major, 
which position he held to the close of the war. He received his honorable dis- 
charge at Indianapolis. 

Mr. Fairfield then went to Monroeville, Indiana, and spent the two suc- 
ceeding years in managing a hotel, after which he removed to Monroe, Mich- 
igan, where he engaged in the carriage-painting business. Two years were 
spent in Toledo, Ohio, in the same line oi work for the Wabash Railroad, and 
also a period of time in the railroad shops in Kansas City for the Gulf Rail- 
road, but in 1 87 1 he came to Jasper county. Locating in Webb City he opened 
a hardware store which he conducted for two years and then retired to the 
farm which he had purchased in Duval township. 

Mr. Fairfield was married, March 9, 1858, to Sarah E. Kirby, who was 
born in Jackson county, Michigan, although reared in Monroe county. She 
was a daughter of Isaac and Elinor (Canfield) Kirby, and was born on July 
12, 1837. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Fairfield numbered five, but two of 
them have passed away, the survivors being : Ella, who is the wife of Rev. 
William Cline ; Monford B., who is a traveling man for the Gille Hardware 
& Iron Company ; and Ralph E., who holds a similar position. 

The Fairfield family is one of the old and highly esteemed ones of the' 
state of Maine, and it is very probable that its ancestors came to America in 
the Mayflower. Mr. Fairfield is a worthy representative of it and is well 
known and highly regarded through Jasper county. 

x W. R. HACKER. 

The prominent mine owner whose name is mentioned above has from 
his youth been an active factor in war and peace among those with whom he 
has associated, as will appear from a perusal of the brief history of his career 
which follows. He was born in Greene county, in eastern Tennessee. His 
paternal great-grandfather, Julius Hacker, who came to this country from 
Germany and was the founder of the family on American soil, located in Penn- 
sylvania in 1720. He married Martha Beals, also of the Keystone state, and 
they had seven children, — John, Julius, Jacob, Joseph, Catherine, Susan and 
Elizabeth. The eldest son, John, married Manassa Pressfield and removed to 
Kentucky, and their children were: Samuel Clayborn, George Washington, Val- 
entine and Julius. Jacob, the third son of Julius and Martha (Beals) Hacker, 
married Martha Register, and remo'ved to Tennessee. They became the grand- 



510 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

parents of our subject, and their children were named Isaac, Jacob, Channcey,. 
James. Francis Register, Deborah, Elizabeth and Margaret. The fourth son, 
Joseph, married Elizabeth Foster. Catherine married Jacob Peters and located" 
in Greene county, Tennessee, and their children were Samuel, John, Elizabeth 
and Susan. Susan, the sixth child of Julius and Martha (Beals) Hacker, 
married Allen Sneed and located in Tennessee. Their children were John and 
George Washington. Elizabeth, the seventh and youngest child, married 
William Brown, and they had a son named John. Of the children born unto 
Jacob and Martha (Register) Hacker, grandparents of our subject, James 
married Sabra Cole and removed to Illinois ; Jacob married Sarah Lloyd ; Deb- 
orah married Robert Ryan and removed to Texas ; and Elizabeth married 
George W. Cole, of Missouri. 

Jacob Hacker, the father of our subject, was born in Tennessee, and there 
became prominent as a teacher and in public affairs. His death occurred in 
1864. He married Sarah Lloyd, also a native of Tennessee, and two of their 
sons are now living in the eastern part of that state. One, Hon: Newton 
Hacker, ex-judge of the circuit court, has won prominence as a lawyer. His 
children are as follows : Captain Theodore, of the United States army, now 
serving in the Philippine Islands ; Arthur, a clerk in the government employ at 
Washington, D. C. ; George, a clerk in the employ of the Walker Dry Goods 
Company, at St. Louis; and Channcey and Bertha Florence, who are members 
of their father's household. Joseph Hacker, another brother of our subject, 
is cashier of the First National Bank of Greenville, Tennessee. His children 
are Marcellus, Victor, Joseph, and Hassie, and all are now acquiring an edu- 
cation. 

When yet a boy W. R. Hacker, the immediate subject of this review, 
enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming a member of the Third Regi- 
ment, Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, in 1864, and served with that regiment 
until the close of the war, taking part in several hotly contested engagements. 
In 1880 he came to Joplin and began mining, and has been prospecting and 
opening up mines continuously since that time. He developed the Ino mine on 
the John H. Taylor land, one of the largest producers in the district, the Ben- 
ham mine on the Gran by tract and the H. N. E. mine on the same tract. He is 
now interested in the Leadhill lease in Belleville, comprising fort}- acres ad- 
joining the Standard Hill lands. The land embraced in the Leadhill lease is 
considered as good ore land as there is in the district. 

Mr. Hacker was married in Tennessee, to Miss M. M. Brown, a native of 
Greene county, that state, and a daughter of William Brown, a prominent 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 511 

citizen of his locality. They have one son, W. A. Hacker, who is employed 
as bookkeeper for the Picher Lead Company, at Joplin, Jasper count v. Polit- 
ically our subject is a Republican, and he has long- been active in the work of 
the county and city central committee of his party. He is a man of influence, 
and his advice is sought in important matters with the full knowledge on the 
part of his fellow citizens that it will be based on 'his honest convictions A 
man of much public spirit, he invariably exerts himself to the utmost to further 
all measures calculated to benefit the general public. 

' CHARLES RANDOLPH JOXES. 

Charles Randolph Jones, of Webb City, Missouri, who died November 2 
1901. was a most prominent and influential financier and citizen of Jasper 
county. He was the vice-president of the Webb City Bank, the oldest financial 
institution of the place, and one of the soundest and most solid banks of Jasper 
county. His birth occurred September 10, 1876, in Abingdon. Virginia— th> 
state which furnished to the country so many presidents and a splendid array 
of distinguished men. 

Mr. Jones belonged to one of the honored families of the Old Dominion 
and had occasion to be justly proud of his lineage and ancestry. He was the 
son of R. \\ . and Bettie (Spratley) Jones, and his father and mother are both 
natives of \ irgm.a. They grew to manhood and womanhood in the same 
community, and were married in the state of their nativity R W Jones is a 
highly educated man and is one of the leading college professors and educators 
ot the south, having for a great many years been prominently connected with 
a number ot the leading institutions of learning both in his 'native state and 
in Mississippi. For some time he was the president of Martha Washington 
College, ot Virginia, and then removing to Mississippi he became professor of 
chemistry in the State University, but later resigned that position to become 
the first president of the Industrial Institute and College, at Columbus. Alissis- 
sippi. In 1886 he returned to Virginia to accept the presidency of Emory and 
Hem- y College, and this position he held for three years. On the expiration 
of that period he returned to Mississippi to resume his duties as professor of 
chemistry, and was made vice-chancellor of the University of Mississippi 
which position he has filled continuously since 1889. 

Charles Randolph Jones, the subject of this sketch, attended Webb's 
school at Bellbuckle, Tennessee, and then for some time was a student in 
Lmory and Henry College, in Virginia. Later he entered the University of 



512 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Mississippi, prosecuting his studies in that institution until he completed the 
work oi the junior year. At this time he was offered a position in the Con- 
tinental National Bank, of Memphis, Tennessee, and closed his collegiate 
career at a comparatively early age in order to enter into business life. At the 
end of one year he left Memphis to accept the position of assistant cashier of 
the National Bank of Commerce, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, holding that 
position for two years. In 1898 he went to> Oklahoma City, Oklahoma terri- 
tory, becoming secretary and treasurer of the Southwestern Cottonseed Oil 
Company, for one year, and at the end of this period he sold the company's 
property and took an interest in the Webb City Bank and became its vice-pres- 
ident. This is the oldest bank in Webb City and was established in 1882 by 
E. T. Webb, son of John C. Webb, deceased, the elder Mr. WeEb having been 
the founder of Webb City. This bank was conducted by Mr. E. T. Webb from 
1882 to 1890 as a private banking institution, but in the latter year it was in- 
corporated and Mr. Webb became its president, and still holds that position. 
It has always been a carefully conducted, well-handled moneyed institution, 
with ample resources, and is known in banking and financial circles as one of 
the soundest banks of the state. 

By his energy, integrity and business capacity, Mr. Jones won his way 
to the front and enjoyed the reputation of being an able and conservative finan- 
cier, thoroughly reliable and worthy of all confidence. His loss is deeply felt 
throughout the community in business and social life. 



i 



W. J. FUGITT. 



Few residents of Jasper county are better or more favorably known than 
is W. J. Fugitt, a justice of the peace, a leader in the political as well as the re- 
ligious circles of the neighborhood, and one of the highly esteemed old settlers. 
Mr. Fugitt was born in Pike county, Illinois, April 8, 1839, and was a son of 
Benjamin and Elizabeth (Rafferty) Fugitt. Judge Fugitt comes of excellent 
ancestry. His father was a native son of Kentucky, who became a resident of 
Pike county, Illinois, when a lad of twelve. His valor was proven in the Black 
Hawk and Mexican wars, and he assisted his father in clearing and cult'vating 
one of the first farms in Pike county. The mother came from an old Alabama 
family and her parents, too, were early pioneers of Pike county. Five children 
were born to these parents, four sons and one daughter, and of this family our 
subject was the eldest. 

W. J. Fugitt was educated in Pike county, where he was given everyi 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 513 

available opportunity for the acquirement of knowledge, and in i860 he was 
married to Miss J. C. Gates, who was born in Missouri, but was reared in Pike 
county, and was a daughter of Jackson and Eliza Gates. The two sens of this 
marriage are Alvin J., of Joplin, and Ira R., at home. 

After his marriage our subject and wife located on a farm in Pike county 
and during the summer months he engaged in farming while in the winter 
season he followed teaching. In 1866 he came to Jasper county, Missouri, and 
built the first house in Georgia City, also partly erected the store and postoffice 
building for P. M. Mitting. He conducted a store there for several years, haul- 
ing his goods from Sedalia, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. This 
was the first store in the township, and our subject was in mercantile business 
for some years, in connection with farming. Then he moved to Waco and 
for twelve years was interested in a general mercantile and a grain shipping 
business, afterward removing to Asbury, his present residence, in 1896, since 
which time he has been a justice of the peace and has interested himself in some 
real-estate and insurance business. 

For several years Mr. Fugitt has been a member of the Democratic com- 
mittee and is its chairman. He has held many of the local offices and is a leader 
in his party. In the Baptist church he is held in high esteem and contributes 
liberally to its support. Many of the wonderful changes which have taken 
place in Jasper county for the advancement of its interests, have had the hearty 
co-operation and financial assistance of Judge Fugitt. 

WILLIAM REECE. 

A man of superior mental attainments, a profound thinker and a versa- 
tile writer, William Reece also possesses all of the qualifications necessary to 
make successful his mining operations in Jasper count)-, Missouri, and to win 
him prominence here as in other parts of the Union. He was burn at Upper 
Mills, Fairfield county, Ohio, where his father and uncles owned all of the 
grist mills located at Baltimore and Basil, Ohio, where his paternal grand- 
father had settled when he removed from Virginia. The maiden name of the 
mother of our subject was Anna Hitchcock. Pier mother was born in Penn- 
sylvania, of English ancestry, but the Flitchcock family emigrated from Mary- 
land to Ohio. 

Mr. Reece early displayed an active and receptive mind, and he was given 
educational opportunities at Carpenter's Academy and the Ohio Weslevun 
University, at Delaware, Ohio. For twelve years he conducted a summer 



5 14 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

normal school at Xenia College, at Xenia, Ohio, in connection with Professors 
Tuffs and Hammond ; conducted a normal school one year at Antioch College, 
at Yellow Springs, Ohio; for eleven years was superintendent of the city schools 
of Jamestown; for five years was principal of the Springfield (Ohio) high 
school; for one year was geologist and land inspector in Texas, Xew Mexico 
and Indian Territory, for eastern syndicates; for five years was superintendent 
of schools at Great Bend, Kansas; for four years was superintendent of schools 
at Emporia, Kansas; and for three years was superintendent of city schools 
at Falls City, Xehraska, following which period he came to Jasper county, 
Missouri. 

Mr. Reece has done much work in the line of civil engineering in western 
Kansas, in the way of drilling and surveying. He has been called the father 
-of irrigation as now practiced in the western states. For a number of years he 
studied the subject, and after eighteen months of careful investigation, he 
wrote concerning this for the Kansas papers and presented the subject in such 
a way that immediate attention was attracted. A meeting was called at Salina, 
Kansas, which took action on the matter, also one at Hutchinson, and soon 
after the state itself began to adopt the views of Mr. Reece, and the National 
Irrigation convention was called and has been held in a number of western 
states. Mr. Reece was sent as a delegate to Denver, to' Albuquerque, New 
Mexico, and was also appointed a delegate to the convention in St. Louis, and 
to the Omaha Commercial congress, and while there was made secretary of the 
first committee appointed to prepare exhibits for the Omaha exposition. He 
was appointed by the Omaha Club which carried out the plans made by Mr. 
Reece. 

Mr. Reece has been in the mining district of Jasper county for the past 
five years and has spent almost all of his time in interested and intelligent 
mining. Fie bought the Lucky Strike mine, on North Empire land, and super- 
intended this for a time. He sunk forty-seven drill holes in which he had an 
interest, and superintended and sunk twenty shafts, in which he also has an 
interest. Mr. Reece is superintending the Midway tract of the American Zinc 
and Lead Smelting Company, of Boston and Centerville, of this county. This 
consists of over two hundred acres, with a lease of twenty acres. For the 
past eighteen months Mr. Reece has been the efficient superintendent of this 
valuable, property. 

The marriage of William Reece was to Miss X T annie Hanway, the 
daughter of Rev. Samuel Hanway, of Royalston, Ohio. To this marriage 
these children were born: Mrs. Lina Lowther, of Joplin; Mrs. Frank K. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 5*5 

Beam, of McPherson, Kansas; Mrs. J. C. Petro, of McPherson; John W., an 
attorney at Stillwater, Oklahoma; and Hazel Ruth, a graduate of the Joplin, 
high school, who is now a student in the Joplin Commercial College. All of 
the children have been well educated and are graduates of the high schools! 
and all have been normal school students. 

With all of his many cares, responsibilities and duties, Mr. Reece has 
taken an active interest in both the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the 
Masonic fraternity, belonging to the lodges in Springfield, Ohio. He is also 
connected with the Knights of Pythias, of Falls City, Nebraska. The religious 
home of the family is in the Methodist church. 

^ ELIJAH ALLEN. 

The real-estate and insurance business in the vicinity of Carl Junction, 
Jasper county, is ably managed by Elijah Allen, who, since 1885, has been one 
of the leading men in that line in this part of the county. A native of Illi- 
nois, Mr. Allen was born in Jefferson county, December 13, 1844, and he was 
a son of Reuben and Nancy (Richardson) Allen. Stephen Allen, the grand- 
father of our subject, was a native of Virginia, of English extraction, and his 
father, who was James Allen, was one of the early settlers in the Old Do- 
minion. Stephen Allen settled in Illinois about 18 10, and his son, Reuben 
Allen, was born in that state in 1821. The mother of our subject was born in 
Tennessee, in 1825, and is still surviving. She was a daughter of Alexander 
W. Richardson, who was born either in Virginia or Tennessee, but married 
in the latter state. He was of both English and Dutch descent, and served in 
the Black Hawk war. The father of our subject died in Jasper county. Mis- 
souri, to which he had come in 1872. By occupation he was a farmer and had 
been a prominent man in the county. He was for many years a Democrat but 
later joined the Greenback party, and for a long period he served as justice of 
the peace. Of the Baptist church he was a leading member. 

The parents of our subject had eight children, six of whom survive, and 
Elijah, of this sketch, is the eldest of the family. He was reared in Franklin 
county, Illinois, attended the district schools and assisted his father on the 
farm, but at the outbreak of the Civil war entered the Union army, enlisting 
in Company G, Fifteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered out 
in the fall of 1865. 

About this time our subject was united in marriage to Miss Sophronia 
De Witt, a native of Hamilton county, Illinois. She was the daughter of Jef- 



516 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

ferson and Amazonia (Davis) De Witt, the former of whom was a native 
of Ohio, although of French descent, the mother being a native of Ohio and 
distant relative of President McKinley. Mrs. Allen was reared in her na- 
tive county, where she was also educated. 

After his marriage Mr. Allen located in Franklin county, Illinois, where 
he conducted a farm for some years and then removed to Hamilton county, 
where he also managed farming operations for a few years, but in 1873 he 
removed to Neosho county, Kansas, and there engaged in merchandizing. 
In 1 88 1 he came to Carl Junction, Jasper county, and opened a store in con- 
nection with his brother, Edward B. Allen. He also was appointed and served 
as postmaster for four years. In 1886 he bought his brother's interest in 
the store and conducted the business until 1888, at which period he retired 
from commercial pursuits. Prior to this time, in 1885, he had commenced 
to operate in insurance and real estate and his business in this line so in- 
creased in volume that he was forced to dispose of a second mercantile venture 
conducted for the two years between 1888 and 1890, in order to give his 
entire attention to his present business. 

To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Allen eight children were born, of 
whom five are living as follows: Nellie F., the wife of John W. Carson, of 
Carl Junction; Albert Edward, who married a daughter of Scott Stiers; Ida 
M., a teacher, residing at home; Pearl; Frances F. ; and Myrtle. 

Mr. Allen is one of the prominent and substantial citizens of Carl Junc- 
tion, where he owns considerable real estate which he rents, and he also has 
a fine farm in Arkansas. Flis insurance business is steadily growing as 
he represents such sound companies as the German American, of New 
York; the American Central, of St. Louis; the Connecticut, of Hartford, and 
the German, of Freeport, Illinois. 

R. C. FRIEND. 

Thirty-two years have passed since R. C. Friend came to Jasper county 
and during the period of time that has elapsed since his arrival he has borne an 
important part in public affairs and in the development of the rich mineral 
resources of this portion of the state. A man of enterprise, strong deter- 
mination and keen business sagacity, he has carried forward his work in 
search of the mineral deposits with which Nature has blessed this locality and 
in his mining operations has met with very creditable and gratifying success. 

Mr. Friend is a native of Kentucky, his birth having occurred in Louis- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 5*7 

ville. He represents one of the old and prominent families of that state, his 
grandfather, Charles Friend, having taken up his abode there when the work 
of civilization and progress had just been begun. He was a native of Ireland, 
and emigrating to the new world, took up his abode near Lynchburg, Virginia, 
where he made his home until his removal to Kentucky. He resided in what 
was then Hardin county, but is now Larue county, and was the owner of the 
farm upon which occurred the birth of Abraham Lincoln, later to become the 
most distinguished citizen the century produced. Fielding Friend, the father 
of our subject, was born in Louisville, and became well known throughout the 
state, operating stage lines in various parts of Kentucky before the advent of 
railroads. He also engaged in merchandising and the extent of his business 
operations gained him a wide acquaintance, while the sterling worth of his 
character won for him many friends. He married Elizabeth Sleeper, who 
was a native of Pittsburg. Although her husband and his people owned 
slaves, she was strongly opposed to the custom and endorsed the principles of 
the old Abolition party. She corresponded with northern papers on the sub- 
ject, used her influence against the traffic in the colored race and was an 
earnest advocate of the Union cause at the time of the Civil war, although she 
had brothers and three sons who served in the Confederate army. 

Although born in Louisville, R. C. Friend was reared in Hardin county. 
He was only thirteen years old when the Civil war was inaugurated, but 
though a mere boy, he was in the service, carrying news and running contra- 
bands and carrying dispatches. In the last year of the war he regularly en- 
listed, becoming a member of the Twenty-seventh Kentucky Confederate 
regiment, with which he loyally performed his service as a brave soldier in 
defense of the cause and principles in which he believed. For four vears fol- 
lowing the cessation of hostilities he remained in Kentucky and then came to 
Missouri. 

It was in 1869 that Mr. Friend arrived in Carthage and since that time 
he has resided continuously in Jasper county. He opened a dry-goods store 
in Carthage and for fifteen years successfully carried on business along that 
line, when he disposed of his store in order to enter upon an official position 
to which he had been elected and in which he was continued from 1886 until 
1890. In the latter year he began mining. In connection with J. F. Pur- 
cell he sank the first shaft at Rubber Neck and at Hells Xeck and there devel- 
oped the largest mining camp in the district. Its yield is greater than ever and 
though the district has long been worked its supply of minerals seems inex- 
haustible. Mr. Friend also developed Reed's Station. He has the lease there 



.5i8 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

on Center creek and is building two new mills. There are three shafts, all in rich 
ore beds, one having been sunk to the depth of two hundred and twenty-five 
feet, the second to the depth of one hundred and eighty-seven feet, and the 
third one hundred and sixty-five feet. He is now operating the property of the 
Allen Mining Company on the McConey land in Joplin township, working at 
a depth of eighty-five feet. His mining operations have thus reached exten- 
sive proportions. He has secured splendid equipments for securing and 
handling the ore and his success is annually adding to his well earned com- 
petence. 

Air. Friend has a pleasant home and interesting family in Carthage. He 
married Miss Laura Neeley, of Muncie, Indiana, a daughter of Moses Neeley, 
who was one o>f the pioneers of that portion of the state and there engaged in 
merchandising. Mr. and Mrs. Friend have three sons: Neeley E., Frank and 
George. The parents hold membership in the Christian church and are pr< >m- 
inent and influential residents of Jasper county, where they have gained a wide 
circle of friends. In his political views, Mr. Friend is a stalwart Democrat, 
who does everything in his power to promote the growth and insure the suc- 
cess of his party. He was chairman of the county committee for a number of 
years and has been active in managing successful campaigns. For two years 
he has served as city clerk, and in 1886 was elected county recorder, in which 
position he was continued by re-election until 1890. His public duties have 
ever been discharged with promptness and fidelity and his career has ever been 
characterized by loyalty in citizenship, reliability in business and honor in all 
life's relations. 

JOHN HUDSON. 

Each community is judged by the character of its representative citizens, 
and its social, intellectual and business standing is determined thereby. The 
sterling worth, commercial ability and enterprise of the leading men are mir- 
rored forth in the public life of the town, and therefore the history of John 
Hudson will prove of interest to many of the readers of this volume. 

He is a native of Jessamine county, Kentucky, to which place his father 
removed in a very early day. During the Civil war our subject loyally re- 
sponded to the call of his country, and in 1862 enlisted in the Seventh Illinois 
Cavalry, of which he was made first lieutenant. He served in the Army of 
the Potomac, participated in both the first and second battles of Bull Run, 
and remained in active service until 1865, when the war was over and his 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 519 

country no longer needed his service. In 1867 he came to Jasper county, 
Missouri, where for the following five years he was engaged in the dry-goods 
business at Carthage, under the firm name of Powers & Hudson. On the 
expiration of that period he removed to Kansas, locating at Pleasant View. 
In 1884 he again came to Jasper county, Missouri, where he now takes rank 
among the leading mine-owners of the locality. He is engaged in operating 
the Hudson mine, at Prosperity, in which he has been interested for rive 
years. It is mined to a depth of one hundred and eighty feet, having two 
shafts and a one-hundred-ton mill, with sludge attachments. The Hudson 
is one of the best producers in this part of the state. He also owns some 
rich mining property at Gelena, Kansas, and has a lease of two hundred and. 
forty acres of land near the Diamond Grove mine at Joplin. 

Mr. Hudson was united in marriage with Miss Mary I. Davis, of Webb 
City, by whom there are no children. By his first marriage, to Matilda Walls, 
he had six children, whose names are : Charles N., of Webb City ; Guy, a 
resident of Indiana; Lucy and Rosa, at home; and William and Cyrus, de- 
ceased. In his social relations Mr. Hudson is a member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. 

V ROBERT A. MOORE. 

Robert A. Moore, of Joplin, the owner and operator of the Robert Moore 
lease, located on College Hill, in Galena township, is one of the substantial 
and well known citizens of Jasper county, Missouri. Mr. Moore's native 
state is Georgia, and he is the son of Hamilton and Cinderella (Lynch) 
Moore, the former of whom was born in North Carolina, served as a soldier 
in the Confederate army, and now resides in Johnson county, Texas. The 
latter was born in South Carolina and also survives. 

Robert A. Moore was but eight years of age when he left his native state ■ 
and went to Alabama, ten years later removing to Mississippi, from which 
state he entered the Confederate army, serving through the war in Hardy's 
battalion, and in 1867 he came to Missouri. Since 1871 he has been operating 
in this locality. Mr. Moore has been a witness of all the changes that have 
taken place since that time, as he saw Joseph Cox lay out the first lots in 
Joplin, and he also watched the building of the first house in this thriving 
and busy city. Twenty-seven years of mining have given Air. Moore unusual 
experience. It has been his good fortune to open up a number of fine paying 
mines, several of these being the Skunk Hollow, the William Hoffman and' 



52o BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

the Sanders on Parr Hill, and he also opened the Harris & Spencer lease at 
the Pinkard mines, and owned two of as valuable mines as were in the dis- 
trict. He is also the owner of the forty-acre lease which bears his name and 
which he operates, with the exception of fifteen acres, which he sub-lets. He is 
also opening up a prospect in a lease adjoining this tract, which is very prom- 
ising. 

Although Mr. Moore is a busy man with many cares, he finds time to 
enjoy the companionship of his comrades in the fraternities I. O. O. F. and 
Modern Woodmen, where he is highly valued. There are few residents of 
this section who can more fully explain the great mining industries of Jasper 
county, or relate the wonderful changes that have taken place here in the 
last quarter of a century, than Robert A. Moore, one of its truly representative 
men. 

CHARLES H. CRAIG, M. D. 

Among the able and successful physicians of Jasper county, Missouri, 
none is more highly esteemed as an efficient and reputable family physician 
than Dr. Charles Henry Craig, of Webb City. The Craig family is of Scotch 
descent, and its original sire in this country was the Rev. John Craig, who 
came from Edinburg, Scotland, and settled in the colony of Virginia, in what 
is now Augusta county, in 1734. He was the great-grandfather of Joseph L. 
Craig, the Doctor's father, and was a Presbyterian preacher. He spent his 
life of sixty-five years in that cause, preaching and working among the wild 
and untutored savages, as well as the earlier settlers of the colonies of Vir- 
ginia. The father of our subject, Joseph L. Craig, was born in Mason county. 
West Virginia, in 1832, and came to this state when four years of age with 
his father, George R. Craig, locating in Callaway bounty. The Doctor's 
mother bore the maiden name of Mary E. Jones. Her father, George W. 
Jones, emigrated from Kentucky to Boone county, Missouri, in an early day. 
and was one of the pioneer settlers of that county. He afterward moved 
to Fulton, Callaway county, where his daughter Mary was born. Her brother, 
Jefferson F. Jones, became a noted criminal lawyer, and played a conspicuous 
part in the war records of Callaway county. 

Dr. Craig, of this review, is a native of Missouri, born June 8, 1857, and 
was reared to manhood on a farm in Callaway county, this state. At the age 
of eighteen years he began public life as a teacher in the public schools of Cal- 
laway and Audrain counties, by his own efforts and industry, and in the face of 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 521 

poverty and adversity, gradually working his own way up the difficult pathway 
of life, and finally graduated at the State Normal School at Kirksville, Mis- 
souri, as a teacher. He next entered the State University at Columbia, this 
state, as a student of medicine, and after spending two years in that institu- 
tion went to the Missouri Medical College, where he subsequently graduated, 
receiving his degree in medicine in 1887 from both institutions. Soon after 
his graduation he was appointed by Governor Marmaduke to a position in the 
state hospital at Jefferson City, where he remained for the following three and 
a half years. Tiring of the restrictions there imposed and longing for the 
freedom and liberty of the busy, bustling world, Dr. Craig resigned his posi- 
tion therein and came to Webb City in August, 1890. and began the general 
practice of medicine. 

In 1888, while living at Jefferson City, he was married to Miss Lucy D. 
Wren, of Fulton, Callaway county, Missouri. Two sons have blessed their 
union, — Charles Maurice and Joseph Franklin. Dr. Craig is a member of the 
highest rank of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and also holds mem- 
bership relations with other fraternal orders. He was a Democrat by birth, 
and has ever remained true to his parental teachings. Both he and his wife 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, Southland are usually found 
at their post of duty. Charitably inclined and liberal to a fault, he has at 
all times contributed to every public enterprise that is for the betterment of 
his country and his fellow men. The Doctor also belongs to several medical 
societies, and is popular not only as a physician but also as a citizen. He takes 
a helpful and abiding interest in everything going on around him and may be 
depended upon to aid to the utmost of his ability any movement promising to 
be a benefit to the community in which he lives. 

ELLIOT RAINES MOFFET. 

The city of Joplin is a monument to the enterprise and business ability of 
Mr. Moffet, who is its founder, and with its progress, upbuilding and develop- 
ment he has been actively connected. He now resides in Crystal Springs, 
Arkansas, but is well known throughout Jasper county and his name will ever 
be inseparably interwoven with the history of Joplin. It is the man who 
aids in developing the natural resources of a locality that is deserving the 
gratitude of its citizens, for in this utilitarian age progress and improve- 
ment depend upon business activity, and no man has done more to promote 



522 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

industry and commercial interest in this portion of southwestern Missouri, 
than has Mr. Moffet. 

A native of Iowa, he was horn in 1828. His father was an Irishman, 
not larger than our subject, and his mother was a German lady of small 
stature. Both were energetic people — a quality which their son inherited. 
He spent some time in California, where he made and lost two fortunes. 
He resided in Burlington, Iowa, before coming to Jasper county, where he 
took up his abode in 1868, his home being in Oronogo. For two years he was 
associated in mining operations there with J. B. Sargeant, and in May, 1870, 
he came to the present site of Joplin, believing that there was ore here. He 
was the first pioneer on the then wild prairie and put the first pick in the 
ground in the East Town hill, or the west town land. Finding that he was 
right in his conjecture about the ore, he was the first one to engage in mining 
at Joplin and to begin the development of the rich mineral resources of the 
localitv, which in greater measure than any other enterprise have contributed 
to the wealth and general prosperity of this portion of the state. He found 
ore on East Town hill, then east of Joplin, but now within the corporation 
limits of the city, and soon he was joined by Mr. Sargeant. They purchased 
forty acres of land, platted it and laid out the town site and almost immediately 
the town began to grow and has since enjoyed a prosperous condition. He 
opened the Moon Range mine and did much in connection with mining in- 
terests here. He was an early riser, being up at five o'clock in the morn- 
ing and at his furnace by seven. He always retired at nine o'clock and every 
one of the household had to be in bed at tfiat time or be locked out. He was 
kind to his men at the furnace, but if he found any of them had been drinking 
intoxicating liquors he would tell them to go and get their pay, and they 
knew it was no use to argue the case with him. He ran two shifts, of sev- 
enty-five men each. He was very strict in business matters. 

Mr. Moffet laid the foundation of Joplin in such a manner that it was an 
easy matter for others to extend the city and add to its improvements. He 
established four stores and was connected with many industries and enterprises 
which contributed in large measure to the growth and upbuilding of Joplin. 
In connection with Mr. Sargeant he founded the lead works and later he pur- 
chased his partner's interest. The business is still conducted, being controlled 
at the present time by the Messrs. Pitcher. Mr. Moffet owned one thousand 
acres of ground in this locality, much of which was underlaid with valuable 
ore. He was largely interested in the Miners' Bank as one of its heavy stock- 
holders and was one of the proprietors of the Joplin Hotel. In connection 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 523 

with Mr. Sargeant he built, owned and controlled the Girard Railroad between 
Joplin and Girard, Kansas, a distance of forty miles. He was its president, 
but at length sold the road, together with the right of way from Joplin to 
Little Rock, Arkansas, for the sum of three hundred and fifty thousand dol- 
lars, the purchasers being the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad Company. 
He bought another forty acres of land adjoining the' town site on the west, 
which is now the Wilson & Huttoivs addition to the city of Joplin, thus ex- 
tending the town further west by twenty-one acres. From the east end of 
the land — eighteen acres — he realized a goodly amount of royalty on the min- 
eral ore taken from the mines. Mr. Moffet also extended the field of his 
labors beyond Joplin and the surrounding territory and established a bank 
in Girard, Kansas. He is a man of splendid business force and keen dis- 
crimination and carries forward to successful completion whatever he un- 
dertakes. In the careful conduct of his various and extensive interests he has 
acquired a fortune and was at one time rated as a millionaire, but has lost 
money since then. Taking everything into consideration, however, he is a 
self-made, whole-souled, very energetic and reliable man, and in these respects 
has had few equals. He believes in helping them who help themselves and is 
generous to the unfortunate poor and needy. He was a natural inventor 
and would improve on many inventions which he had occasion to use in his 
business. 

He did much for the city which he founded, aiding in the promotion of 
many interests here. He was instrumental in building the first schools and 
first churches and was a contributor to many movements for the city's welfare. 
He served as the first mayor of Joplin and succeeded in founding a town im- 
bued with the enterprising and progressive spirit so characteristic of the west. 

The family home is in Byers avenue, Joplin, where Mrs. Moffet is now 
living. She bore the maiden name of Adele Brockaway, and formerly re- 
sided in St. Louis, Missouri. Her children were Perry D. Moffet, who is 
engaged in mining operations ; and B. F., who was the first boy born in Joplin. 
and is also interested in mining. At one time Mrs. Moffet owned forty acres 
of land in Joplin, which was afterward divided into town lots and sold. 

N. U. WILSOX. 

For more than a quarter of a centry N. U. Wilson has been a resident of 
Jasper county and has long been engaged in mining operations, either on his 
own account or for others. He is a native of Brown county. Ohio, and is 

28 



524 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

descended from good old Revolutionary stock. His great-grandfather fought 
for the independence of the colonies and after the freedom of the nation was 
achieved he became a pioneer settler of Kentucky. He purchased his land 
with continental money, which he had received for service in the Revolutionary 
war. This tract of land became known as Wilson's Bottoms and was famous 
throughout the entire valley for the splendid watermelons there raised. His 
son, Ralph Humphrey Wilson, the grandfather of our subject, served in the 
Indian wars in that portion of the Ohio valley and participated in the battle 
of Tippecanoe. Robert M. Wilson, the father of our subject, was born on 
the old homestead in Adams county, Ohio, and after arriving at years of 
maturity married Margaret Plummer, who also represented a pioneer family 
of Kentucky. A brother of our subject is Dr. Samuel B. Wilson, of Olathe, 
Kansas. 

On leaving his native state N. U. Wilson, of this review, removed to 
Kansas, and while residing in that state was an active and leading factor in 
Democratic politics, having marked influence in shaping the policy and move- 
ments of the party there. In 1874, however, he cast in his lot with the 
residents of Jasper county and for many years has been actively associated 
with its mining interests. He has opened up and developed mines on his own 
account, and for the past twelve years he has been superintending mines, and 
superintended for eleven and one-half years the Redding mine, one of the 
greatest mining properties in the district. In 189 1-2 he had charge of the Cave 
Spring mines and was also superintendent of the Chenango Stanley mine at 
East Galena. 

Air. Wilson was married in Ohio to Miss Jane Wilks, of Brown county. 
On her mother's side she was descended from the Blairs, a prominent pioneer 
family of that state, to which belonged Hon. F. P. Blair, of St. Louis, who was 
candidate for vice-president on the ticket with Seymour. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
Wilson have been born the following children : Charles C, of Chicago, 
who owns the Harris Nickel Plate Circus and Menagerie; Robert, who is 
excursion agent for the Forepaugh & Sells show ; Frank, who is working for 
the Adams Express Company, at Joplin, Missouri; Pearl P., Grover C. and 
Lena, all at home. 

At the time of the Civil war Mr. Wilson manifested his loyalty to the 
government, enlisting in 1864 as a member of the One Hundred and Eighty- 
fourth Ohio Infantry, with which he served in the Army of the Cumberland 
until the close of the war. He has ever discharged his duties of citizenship 
with promptness and fidelity and has labored for the adoption of those prin- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 525 

ciples which he believes best adapted to good government, He is a member 
of the Old Settlers' Association and is a valued resident of the community, 
his unfailing integrity in business and his courtesy and genuine worth in 
private life winning him the esteem and good will of all whom he meets. 

CAMPBELL ALEXANDER SMITH. 



/ 



During life C. A. Smith, of section 30, Marion township, was one of the 
leading farmers of Jasper county, Missouri. His birth, September 20, 1832, 
was in the state of Tennessee, where his father, Daniel Smith, had lung- 
been a farmer, but when he passed out of life the mother took her two little 
sons and moved to Jasper county, Missouri. Here C. A. Smith grew up. be- 
came a farmer and a very successful stock-raiser, and accumulated much 
land. At his death in 1881 he was able to leave to his family a fine farm of 
two hundred and fourteen acres, which is managed by his three sons. Mr. 
Smith was a life-long Democrat, was well known in this localitv and was sin- 
cerely mourned when he passed out of life. His burial was in the West cem- 
etery. 

Mrs. Sarah A. (Thompson) Smith, who is the estimable widow of the 
late C. A. Smith, was born in Daviess county, Kentucky, on August 13, 1833. 
and she was a daughter of Thomas Thompson, who also was a native of 
Kentucky, and a granddaughter of Joseph Thompson, also a native of Ken- 
tucky. The latter was supposed to be of Irish ancestry and he was a soldier 
in the Revolutionary war. Thomas Thompson come to Jasper county in 
1839 and located in the southeastern portion of the county. There he cleared 
up and improved a farm, but his last years were spent with his daughter, Mrs. 
Smith, where he died when about sixty-three years old. 

The mother of Mrs. Smith was Lucinda Marks, who was born in Vir- 
ginia, although she was reared in Kentucky. She lived to the age of fifty 
years and had been the mother of nine children, six of whom grew to maturity, 
Mrs. Smith being the fourth child of the family. She was about six years 
old when she came to Jasper county with her parents and she has remained in 
this county ever since. Her marriage to Mr. Smith was in 1858. and six chil- 
dren were born to them, five of whom still survive, the names being: Will- 
iam E., who married Fannie McClintick; Ida M., who married Charles 
Creamer and lives in Galena, Kansas; James, who married Lizzie Rice; Clara, 
who has passed away; Charles C, who married Agnes Leidv : and George W.. 
who remains at home, unmarried. 



526 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JASPER COUNTY. 

Mrs. Smith is a survivor of the pioneer days and has witnessed with 
interest the wonderful progress that the county has made since she first 
came here. Her fine farm is managed by her sons and she is one of the 
most highly esteemed residents of the Locality, and is the only one of her family 
still residing in Jasper county. For many years she has been a consistent 
member of the Congregational church and is known far and wide for her 
kind neighborliness and many acts of kindness. Her memory is excellent 
and her tales of pioneer days in Missouri are very interesting. 



